^ the: JOHN . CRAIG LIBRARY COL. LEGE OF AGRICULTURE 1 COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, DEPARTf^Ef^T OF HORTICULTURE, CORNELL UNIVERSITY, ITHACA, N. Y. Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924002883373 A P roi imim out OF 60 ) ACRES. .*<*l^ \ _A. _'L „-' '^ '2^ "'^^ '^^^^ .-x^^; j\-» tfe^/y" / i.-J ..J^ -tfnrHjtT- ~ \ - V - V', •i^-'' J^ ^ \ -.-5 j.j, '^> -' "■'--A '■'I V \ J^*Ci**^ « 't»li; ^ ^ \^. ^j / ; ■^ ■ -f -^. ~^>~3 i^.;--\y Ciivrards \ *3*P Sfprm-berri'es' .. life .s^ " 'i ";*'';% -■' '' -i^tei'^'-*"- ■Ki-.Ai*-' '** "^^ ,'j'.. Jfyclruiih- rj ^Irrujalion _ j /f/(i'.)- ,ifl<'<-el. i.//?™- ofr/rairL- COUI^IxRY LIFE: A HANDBOOK OF Jgricultnit, Pflrtialture, ^ f anbsrape iarkniitg. BY EOBEET MOERIS COPELAND. VIEW AT BEAVEE BaOOK FALLS, THE \.UTHOR S RESIDENCE 1 FIFTH EVITION, MMriSED. BOSTON": x>insm:ooe. j^n^u coMPA.3sr^'. 186 6. Entered, according to Act of Congress, In the year 1866, by DINSMOOK AND COMPANY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts, OBU. C. HAND it AVEBr, SXEBEOTVPEKS AKD PRINTERS. ALL LOVERS OF NATURE AND TO ALL ENGAGED IN CULTIVATING AND ADORNING THE EARTH, Ips §00fe is iel»itat«Ji, ■VriTH THE EARNEST HOPE THAT IT MAT ATTRACT TO THE PRACTICE OF THE ARTS OP CULTURE SOME WHO WILL SEE THAT THE PURSUIT IS FULL OP PLEASURE, WITH NO MORE THAN A HEALTHY AMOUNT QP LABOR. AND ALSO, WITH THE HOPE THAT SOME WHO NOW EARN THEIR BREAD WITH THE SWEAT OP THEIR BROW, AND LOOK UPON THEIR CALLING AS A TREADMILL OP DRUDGERY AND ENDURANCE, MAY HERE LEARN THAT WITHIN THE ROUND OF THEIK DAILY DUTIES THEY HAVE EVERY THING WHICH CAN EXPAND THE MIND AND ENNOBLE THE SOUL. PEEFACE. The practice of the useful arts necessarily precedes their theory by a great interval, for it alone can furnish reliable material whence principles may be deduced, and rules determined ; and there can never be a time when it shall cease to be the test to which all rules and theories must be subjected. This is pre-em- inently true of agriculture, the oldest of the useful arts, through all its branches, and it is, therefore, in vain to look for a book on the culture of the earth which shall be altogether or mainly original ; all such books, resting on the experience of the past, must, of necessity, refer to the past, must recapitulate its discov- eries and practice, in greater or less degree. Unless they be monographs of peculiar speciality, they must partake somewhat of the nature of a compilation borrowing from many sources. I wish to acknowledge the ideas, the words, the illustrations which I have borrowed; and if I have failed to do this in any instance, the omission is not intentional. In some cases the views of others are so incorporated with and modified by my own, that it is out of the question to preserve the distinction between them. Stevens (Book of the Farm), Mcintosh (Book of the Gar- den), Loudon, Price, Liebig, Way, Gisbourne (Essays), Paul, Johnston, Boussingault, the journals of various English agricul- tural societies, are the European sources to which I am mainly indebted ; whilst among American authorities I have principally VI PREFACE. referred to Dana, Browne's Muck Book, Text Book of Agricul- ture, McMahon, Hovey, Shedd, The Working Farmer, Field's Pear Culture, with some newspaper items. Of course there are many things within this wide range of which I have had small personal experience ; in such cases I have relied entirely on the best authorities, applying them as my general experience dic- tates. In the body of the work I have met some of the popular arguments against the course of adopting largely the English improved culture, but not so fully as to preclude a few general remarks in this preface. Without doubt our common practice is just where English agriculture was forty years ago. The de- scriptions of English farming, tools, buildings, crops, roads, etc., given by Young and other writers of that time, might be quoted word for word to-day, as descriptive of the mass of New Eng- land farms. And if English farmers followed this kind of farm- ing forty years ago with profit, and have since improved their practice so much as to double and treble their profits, with no other change in the circumstances than an increased outlay of capital and intelligence, it seems to me that it logically fol- lows that we can do the same. The frequent discussions about high farming seldom lead to definite and satisfactory conclusions, for want of a precise and accepted definition of the term. High farming in this book is the name of that culture which provides for the thorough re- clamation, drainage, and manuring of the land under treatment ; so thorough a manuring that a single application will ensure ample food to all the crops of the sagaciously planned rotation ; which so arranges the rotation for each field that each crop comes at a time when the soil is in the best state to feed it, finds an excess of its favorite food, and yet leaves an excess of the food most appropriate for the next crop ; which looks on PREFACE. VII every weed as a thief, and on the labor expended in securing neatness, cleanliness, and order as certain to increase the final profit; and which leads, by intelligent steps, from improvement in the culture of earth to the yet more profitable and the far niore noble culture of the man. These steps I have endeavored to point out in part. Sometimes I have invited the reader to trace them with me, hoping that he may find the result to which they lead eminently practiced. The calendar form, and the general divisions which recur in every month, have been adopted as facilitating reference. The course announced in the opening pages, viz., to give but one method in cases where many are practised, and each has warm advocates, may expose me to the charge of ignorant con- ceit and dogmatism, but it has been deliberately chosen for the convenience and advantage of the general reader, who is not supposed to be an adept in any of the departments treated of. To him this book is ofiered as a manual for guidance ; it would but confuse him if it presented many methods, and left him to choose between them. I have myself often suffered from the difficulty of ascertaining what was the best way of doing some- thing I had in hand, when . I had books enough which told in how many ways the thing was done, a matter to which one is perfectly indifferent when work presses upon him; and in my profession of Landscape Gardener, I have often remarked that much ef the expense of obtaining answers to the innumerable questions put to me on all the subjects treated in these pages, might be saved to my employers by a simple printed statement of leading principles and rules. The adept likes to decide be- tween different methods presented ; the tyro is glad to learn what his teachers prefer. I have tried to make all obscure operations and descriptions more clear by illustrations, where the eye often reads more at VIII PREFACE. a glance than in many pages of print, and I here acknowledge my obligations to Mr. A. C. Warren, of Boston, the artist who drew the illustrations which form so important a part of the book. Also, I would again mention my indebtedness to J. H Shedd, both for the quotations I have made, and for the systeln of drainage shown upon the plan with which our book opens, which was arranged by him. To my friend Frederick Winsor, M. D., of Salem, I owe much gratitude for assistance, which none but an intimate friend could have given, in revising and correcting my hastily written manuscript. But for his aid the short time which my engage- ment with the publishers allowed for the preparation of the book would scarcely have admitted of critical revision. Bulky as the book is, it does no more than open many ap- proaches to an exhaustless subject, and I lay down my pen with a feeling of deep regret that I have done so little justice to what is so near my heart. One word on a. point to which many words are given in this volume; the spirit in which one should deal with his farm, his flowers, his grounds. Surely it should be that of reverential friendship, not of cold and superficial business relation. This complex, and beautiful mystery, which we call Nature, surely oflfers us something more than food and clothing ; and, believing as I do, that man's " life is more than meat," I cannot speak of the life of that class who seem to live nearest Nature as nothing more than a struggle for that miserable pittance known as a " living." With these explanations I leave my book to the reader, ask- ing him only to bear in mind the words of a Boston orator, who said, " that a book should be judged not merely by its contents, but by the intention of the author." PREFACE TO FIFTH EDITION. In the preface to the first edition of "Country Life," I main- tained, that, in agriculture, experience must govern theories, and that any treatise on the subject must owe much of its value to the degree in which its rules and principles are based upon the results of experience. Whilst this is true, we must, not allow onrgelves to become the slaves of experience, which, it may be said, is the con- stant tendency of farming life. To this day, many men sneer at book-farming as theoretical and unreliable, and resist, as an encroachment on their rights, those theories of cultivation which seem to disagree with the wisdom of the ancients. Nothing would have broken down this feeling and resist- ance but necessity. When men have a certain result to obtain, and to obtain it must use the labor of men and ani- mals, and supply tools and machines, they are compelled, if the labor is scanty, to try to devise, either methods for getting the result without the labor, or to perform the labor ii; some different way. If a man's tools and machinery are worse and less profitable than his neighbor's,. the fact that the result in dollars and cents is against him will incline him to copy his neighbor. The long war we have passed through has absorbed SQ much of the available labor of the country, and at the same rv PEEFACE. time increased the value of the products of agricultural labor, ' that farmers have been compelled to invent either new ma- chines or new crops, and methods of culture. As a coiisequence, we have made vast improvements in agricultural machinery, particularly in harvesting tools. .The mowers and reapers of 1866 are so much better than they were in 1859, that the work of haying and harvesting is re- duced from severe to easy work, and a man and boy will now do the work on a farm which formerly required half a dozen men. In Horticulture, new plants and fruits are introduced every year : some, upon trial, are proved to be of little value, and soon disappear, whilst a few become perinanent friends and comforts to man. In the cultivation of grapes, there has been a great advance ; and not only do we now have very greatly improved varieties, but a thousand cultivate grapes to-day in place of a hundred six years ago. With these new varieties and the widely spreading cultivation, new diseases have come, and some men have suffered so severely, that they have lost heart, and are inclined to abandon the vine ; but, fortunately, man is a persevering animal, particularly when eating and drinking are the stimulants to his efforts, and we may rest assured that the grape or grapes will yet be found which wUl overcome all obstacles, and be equally good for the table and the vineyard. In the Supplement, the subject is extensively treated, and the reader will find there not only the best varieties for different parts of the countiy, but also the opinions of eminent cultivators as to the causes and cures of the most annoying diseases to which grapes are liable. In the Flower-garden, I have introduced many new plants, as well as new lists of old friends, and have urged strongly the claims of some which I had hitherto neglected. PREFACE. In the Agricultural division, I have brought together a large number of facts about Merino sheep, and have endeavored to urge farmers generally to do more to derive, by the aid of sheep, the full value from their farms. When we comprehend the real benefits virhich sheep confer on their owners, it is diffi- cult to understand why so few persons, comparatively, have flocks. The Merino sheep is a proof of what may be done in New England to raise the value of agriculture and stock- raising. I have presented in the Ornamental department, somewhat at length, the horticultural capabilities of cities. I do not seek to persuade the reader that the citizen can have the beauty, the wealth, or comfort of the country; but there is undoubtedly a great deal of space wasted in cities, which might be turned to good use, and give both amusement and real enjoyment to those who have only a brick house for a garden. Doubtless the careful reader of "Country Life" has found methods of doing work with which he could not agree, or which seemed to him to be better done in some different man- ner. To all such let me say, that I never professed to give all the ways of conducting the operations incident to a life in the oountiy, — only one way, which I was well assured would give a good result ; and if, by disagreeing with me, I have stirred the active minds of men to investigate the subject, and pro- , duce newer and better methods than my own, I have certainly confen-ed a favor on them and all mankind, and may well feel satisfied with the labor and time I have expended. Hoping that the Supplement to this edition may bring the book up to the present time, I leave it once more to make its way through the world, trusting that whoever reads it will find more to approve than condemn. INDEX OF PLATES AND WOODCUTS. Aquarium, 251 Asparagus Knife (Book of Garden),. . 651 Banks on bill-side, 87 Bam, ground plan, three stories, 454 Barrel for liquid manure, 12 Bearer Brook, Author's residence,. .Finis. Boiler, Weeks & Co.'s (Book of Gar- den) 723 Budding Roses, incision in stock, and bud ready (Field's Pear Culture),. . 731 Budding; bud in place and wound, 731 Buds, well and ill prepared, 730 " good and poor, specimens of,. . 729 " method of cutting, 729 Bulb-planter, 26 Canvas cover for greenhouse, 103 Catch drains, 78, 79 Conservatory, plan and section,. . . .op. 20 Conservatory bed, 112 Conservative pit, .' 168 " '" cheap, 167 " , " section, 236 " ' " end, 237 Curved paths, 325 Cutting, A, 285 Dams, two specimens, 785 Dibbles, 34 Dibble guaged (Book of Garden), — 412 Ditch before hedge, 767 Drainage, effect on roots, 57 spade, Irish, 64 pipes, laying, 63 trench diagram (Shedd), . . 63 treiich, section, 60 Drain-tiles, joints in, 68 " and pipes, 61 " inplace, 61,62 Drains, 55 " for valley-meadow, 58 " on hill-side, 59,60 " instruments for cutting, 62 Drains on slopes 56 Drill for sowing seed, 485 Dwa.-f fruit tree, 209 Espalier, ■ 193 " for fruit house (Book of Gar- den), 124 Espaliered trees (Loudon), 197 Fall at Beaver Brook, Belmont, Mass., 729 Flower beds, staking out 29, 30, 31 Flower-garden, plan, 726 Forcing box, ' 402 Forcing cover, 414 Fountain, 800 Fruit>houses, sections of, (Book of Gar- den, altered), 258, 259 Fruit-house at Everingham Hall ( Book of Garden), 260 Fumigating tunnel, 308 Furrows, ends of, made by ditTerent ploughs, 674 Grafting, Cleft, 660 Grafting, Crown, 562 Grafting Crown, Scion, 561 Grafting, Saddle, 560 Grafting tubers of Tree Peony (Book of Garden), 564 Grafting, Whip or Tongue, 569, 560 Grapery, plan and section, op. 121 Greenhouse, plan and section, op. 9 " roofs, span and curvilin- ear, 15 Grounds of J. W. Bdmands, 346 Groups; "planting out" disagreeable objects, 328, 329 Gutter tanks, 366 Hay-cover, in use, 696 Hot pipe, dipped under path, 20 Hedge, conical, spreading, 768 Horse hoe, 641 Hotbed for cucumbers, 352 Hotbed heated by water; section and ground plan (Book of Garden),,.. 357 Hot water pipes, 7 ix INDEX OF PLATES AND WOODCUTS. House for fruit in pots (Book of Gar- deu), 26 Initial letters, 1, 6, 95, 164, 224, 280, 347, 395, 456, 528, 587, 663, 722. Instrument for peeling OsierSj 757 Instrument for stretching wire, 195 Irrigation, 75 Eitchen-garden, plan, 191 Land set off with feering poles, dia- gram 670 Lateral thrust, effect of, 364 Layering, 290 Level 80 Machine, mowing, 701 Manger and drinking trough com- bined, 218 Melon-house (Book of Garden), 362 Pears, diagram of planting, 426 Peat drains, 67, 68 Pit, heated by manure, 354 Plant basket (Book of Garden), 248 Plant-case " " 248 Planting trees : 90, 168 Plough, deep tiller, 741 " Michigan, 488 " subsoil, 576 Pot, for Endive (Book of Garden),. . . 409 " for Sea-Kale, " " ... 412 " hinged, for large plants (Book of Garden, altered), 398 Pot, for striking cuttings (Book of Garden, altered), 284 Potato digger, 46 Potato, Sweet, tuber and sprout (Cours Elementaire d'agricnlture),. 656 Pruning, peaches, 299, 300 " pears, 206 vines, 116, 117, 118 Rafter to coal pit, with air chamber,. 170 Eidge and furrow roof, 369 " " " " in section,.. 368 Eidge and flirrow applied to span roof, 367 Eidge and fUrrow roof diagrams, 365 Eoad making, 81, 82 Roots, in deep soii, 643 Rosaries, of W. Paul, ground plans, 667-668 " designs for, by Author, . . 671, 672 *' . of J. Homer; ground plan and elevation 669 Eosary, in Luxemburg gardens, ground plan (Paul's Rose Gard.), 666 Rose, budded, diagram, 604 Roses, various forms of, 673 Rose-tree, Dwarf, in flower (Paul), 677 " " old, method of remodelling, " " No. 13,(Paul) 682 Rose-tree, Pillar (Paul) 680, 681 " " Pillar, in flower (Paul), 609 " " Standard " 678, 679 " " Standard, in flower " 610, 677 " " thick-set with buds. No. 14, (Paul) 683 Rose-tree, weeping, in flower (Paul),. . 676 Rose-tree, Weeping (Paul), 681, 682 Section of improved pit (Book of G arden ), 370 Section of conservatory rafter, 372 Shutters for greenhouse, 103 Sleepy Hollow 586 Stacks, of grain 700 " long 698 " roofs for (Steven's Book of Farm), 669 Stacks, round, 697 Stathels for grain (Steven's Book of Farm), 669 Stratification, of different rocks, 791 Strawberry house (Book of Garden),. 362 Supply water to cattle, contrivance to, 217 Subsoil, unbroken, an obstacle to roots (Glsborne) 575 Subsoiling; effect on roots (Gisborne), 676 Tanks, for beating greenhouse, .... 360, 361 Throw crooks, for twisting hay rope (Steven's Book of Farm), 698 Transplanter, ; . 34 Trees, instances of grouping, 762, 764 " Twice gathered " land, diagram, ... 74 Yentil^tion of glasshouses; poor,.... 100 Ventilation of glass houses; good,..,. 101 Ventilation of glasshouses; by night, 102 Ventilation of hot-bed, 361 Village-garden, 316' Wardian case .(Book of Garden),. . ,i. . 247 Waste-way for pond, 794 Water supplied to cattle, 217, 218 Window-garden, > 241, 242 Wire fence, 194 Wood road, 85 COUNTRY LIFE. CHAPTER I. N Agriculture, Nature repeats herself. Each year is a repetition of its predecessor, and each month but a further development of the plans and processes of the last. The cultivator of the smallest piece of land performs, on his scale, the same operations with the farmer whose acres are numbered by scores, or with the gardener whose gardens and greenhouses have cost thousands of dollars. In preparing a handbook for the instruction of one class of cul- tivators of the soil, we must touch upon the subjects which interest aU ; and therefore, to avoid redundancy, we will select as an exam- ple the estate of a person who must in the course of a year have occasion to practise every operation of agriculture and horticulture which comes within the means of men of moderate fortune. I shall proceed to describe month by month a system of proceed- ing, based upon the most approved theories and practice of modern horticulture, agriculture, and landscape gardening, which will insure the largest return in pleasure and money to any one who will observe faithfully the directions given. I shall confine myself to the wants of men with small fortunes, as our country must always be principally inhabited by this class. Men of large fortunes need no such h^'Udbook, as they will seek their pleasure through agents whose especial business it is to understand all that I propose to discuss. Men with a bare competence need no special book, for although they may have a bit of land to cultivate, their operations will be identical with those I describe, only on a smaller scale, and 1 1 ^ COUNTRY LIFE. they have but to reduce my advice and remarks to theii own scale. I do not propose to offer to the public advice and directions adapted to all parts of the continent. This would manifestly be impossible, owing to the great difference, in climate. It might seem at first sight that differences in climate would only affect the time for commencing and concluding operations, and this idea has influ- enced all who have hitherto prepared such a work as this ; but the view is incorrect. We must not assume that because the season in Philadelphia or Bangor is a week earlier or later than in Boston, directions prepared for either latitude will apply to the other. It is indeed so in a measure ; but special directions are based upon special differences which are affected by slight variations in climate : as, what kind of plants will bear out>of-door culture ; what precau- tions must be taken to secure satisfactory crops of various kinds ; the length of season that will enable those plants and crops to mature. Again, in the tasteful department of culture there is a considerable difference in the plants that will bear exposure to the weather, and consequently in the combinations and effects that are possible ; therefore, if we should take the plants or crops advised for places four or five hundred miles asunder, and cultivate them ourselves, allowing the proper difference in time, so that the season shall have advanced to that point that will warrant a commence- ment, we should ultimately find that there was the same allowance to be made at the end of the season ; and thus a crop which would require three or four months for its perfection would be cut short a fortnight at each end, a month in the whole. Of course the difficulty in preparing a book of this general char- acter is only one of size, as by taking room enough the writer might consider the whole continent; but the resulting volume would be too unwieldy and cumbrous for general use. Nor shall I treat the various subjects introduced in a complete and finished manner, en- tering into a discussion of the whys and wherefores which have in- duced me to assume and maintain the views enunciated, as that course also would demand too much space and time ; but shall con- tent myself with stating the theories and practice which experience and common sense have proved to be the best for people who live THE ESTATE. 3 in a climate like that which exists betweeji the parallels of latitude two degrees north and two south of Boston. The advice offered is certain, if followed, to give a satisfactory result. It is prepared for those who wish to learn ; who, knowing but little, are ready to follow advice, not to discuss it. All such may feel assured that they may unhesitatingly follow these direc- tions, and may confidently rely upon receiving their reward. THE ESTATE. As a necessary preliminary to the rest of the book, let me de- scribe the character of the estate upon which we are to suppose ourselves living, and which we are to cultivate. It shall have an ai-ea of 60 acres, of which jabout 20 are farm; 1|^, flower-garden; 3, kitchen-garden ; 11, orcharding for Pears, Peaches, Cherries, Plums, Quinces, Apricots, Nectarines, Apples and Nuts ; 6 acres are occu- pied by bams, stables, greenhouse, grapehouse, hotbeds, nurseries, and dwelling-house ; the balance is lawn, woods, ponds, and roads. The pond, woodland, lawn, and shrubbery are contiguous ; the green- houses, hothouses, hotbeds, etc., are' near the dwelling-house and near to both kitchen and flower-gardens. The surface is uneven. By purchase or otherwise the estate has come into our hands unstocked, and with its roads, paths, pond, flower-beds, and planta- tions in an unfinished condition. "We find the roads, paths, orchards, and most of the plantations to our mind, but in all other respects the place must be renewed, remodelled, and replanted. The plan at the end of the book shows a ground plan of this place, and is so let- tered and provided with an index that the various operations recom- mended may b^ followed easily and understandingly. It is plain that the place just described may properly, be termed a Femie ornee. Some American writers have seen fit to ridicule the use of this term as being inapplicable to our country^ and of no real significance anywhere. Why they should make such an attack it is hard to tell, for certainly no other term suflGiciently de- scribes a country place that may gratify all the tastes of a lover of country life. A mere pleasure place where there' is nothing for use, and all for beauty, would satisfy but few, as most persons 4 COTJNTET LIFE. soon weary of merely enjoying. The man of earnest mind^ who gladly unbends from serious work and wanders with the great- est satisfaction through lawns and flower-gardens, ultimately craves something more solid ; a view of the practical part of life ; a sight of the machinery by which all moves smoothly and profitably. Be- side the mental gratification derived from a combination of pur- suits, there is almost a duty laid upon every one who makes a country home, to provide occupation as well as recreation. Own- ers of country seats in America, are generally men who have re- tired from active business,'and by having a farm connected with their homesteads, they secure something to do and to think about, and thus avoid the evil of mental inactivity. Many who would agree with these ideas, may object to the term " ornee," as expressing a regard for beauty too great to be consist- ent with the profitable management of a farm. This is an error, and one to which Americans are especially prone, — the sacrifice of the beautiful to the practical, as though the two things were in- compatible. Under this impression they would lay out their farm- roads straight, would strip hedge-rows and waUs of nature's profu- sion of wild flowers and shrubs, as offending against neatness and order ; they would plant their trees in straight rows ; in a word, would make every thing as prosaic as the hoeing of com or the milking of cows. It is a mistake to wish thus to deprive agriculture of the pleas- ure which nature throws about it. Even if it is easier to plough up to a straight road or wall or row of trees, than to a curved line ; what of that, if by planting trees in groups, and curving the roads, we can produce beautiful effects in form and color, and offer agreeable combinations of wood, grass, cultivated field, and distant landscape ? The few dollars a year saved in the one case to the pocket, are no compensation for the loss of the pleasant lessons which the beauties of nature must teach every wiUing mind. It is natural that the present generation should imitate their fathers, whose success has been before their eyes from birth. They who have been taught that the value of the earth lies in the crops she brings, and that those methods are to be followed which will most surely give a large market value to those crops, will adopt unwiU- COMMENCEMENT OF THE TEAE. ingly any cotirse that seems to diminish the expected profits ; but they who know how much more precious a worthy mental devel- opment is than any increase in the hoard of money, should advise aU their pupils to cultivate the beautiful whenever it is possible, as J;he most powerful and delightful means of such development. COMMENCEMENT OF THE YEAR. Before entering on a description of the work before us in this , new home during the next year, let us settle the time when the agricultural year begins : certainly not in January, when the har- vest has long been garnered, and the preparations for the next year's planting are already in a forward state ; not in March, when the frost fetters of the earth are unlocked, and the farmer goes out to consider what to do first, — but at the end of the harvest. Then the farmer begins his preparations for the succeeding year. What is true of agriculture, applies with yet more force to horticulture. January, the first month of the solar year, is not the first of the agricultural ; that year extends from harvest to harvest, and we must begin to prepare for the next, in its succession, while we are yet reaping the fruits of the present year. In the lp,titude of Boston, the year r'eally begins in November, when the harvests have been garnered, and nothing of the year's produce remains out of doors but a few root crops, which are to be gathered when we are preparing for the spring work. The same principle applies to the garden ; only there the preparations must begin earlier than on the farm, as bulb-beds should be made, greenhouses stocked, and kitchen-gardens got in readiness before the frosts become se- vere. Some greenhouse plants should be lifted as early as the middle of August, and almost all by the last of September. So, even at the risk of making our system badly proportioned, we must begin our description of the work to be done at the time when the gardener's year commences, and must take up the farm- er's as we arrive at it. Therefore we shall date our year, not from the end of harvest, or November, but from September, as the month in which much of the next year's work is commenced. 1* CHAPTER n. GREENHOUSE. EPTEMBER. In September our flower-gar- dens ar.e generally in their greatest beauty — those beds at least which do not depend on per- ennial roots. The Verbenas, Salvias, Pelar- goniums, Heliotropes and other bedding plants, have now attained their perfection, and although the annuals and perennials which have glad- dened the earlier months are gone, they are not missed, their places being filled with the luxuriant growth of the plants we have just named. No month in the year gives such tender pleasure to the lover of the flower-garden. In it all the beauty of the spring and summer seem to concentrate, and to be inten- sified by apprehensions of early frosts, which shall turn color to blackness, and fragrance to the noisomeness" of decay. As the evenings grow cooler, the careful gardener is reminded that the next day he must get up the sashes on his hot, and clean out his cold houses ; that piles of mould, broken crocks, and pots must be collected in the plant-sheds, and every thing put into the best condition to facilitate transplanting and repotting. Commenc- ing our work with the greenhouse, we will give a description of the house, its size and arrangements. Our greenhouse A, as shown by the plan, is a two-thirds span- roofed house, with a lean-to shed behind, in which potting may be done, and where cisterns and fires are situated. It is 60 x 20 feet and 15 feet high in the middle. The front wall is 10 inches thick and 4 feet high ; every 5 feet in the front wall there is a venti- lator, 1 foot-square ; this ventilator opens between the two hot-water pipes, so that the fresh air reaches the plants only when properly warmed ; all these ventilators can be closed and opened at once, No. 1. B, Section of Roof. 6, Supporting Posts. c. Ventilators. d, Ropes for Ventilators. Axles of Ventilators. e, A, Greenhouse. B, Cistern C, Ridge Board. G, Hothouse. No. 2. A, Section of Geeenhon.se. A, l!)()ors. C, Cclliir. F, Furnace. G, Rafters. V, Ventilators d. Coal Hole. No. 3. I, Man's Room. /, Potting Shelf K, Walk L, Boiler. d. Supporting Posts. e, Table. /, Staging. h, Shelf. No. 3. GEEENHOUSE. 7 the shutters resting on a wheel which in its turn rolls on a rod of iron ; the shutters are connected with another rod, which is pushed forward or drawn backward by a ratchet-wheel at one end. There is another glass window ventilator near the top of this wall, which slides by the inside of the wall in opening and shutting. The front side of the roof is pitched at 36*, the back side at 32° ; the roof sashes are whole to within 3 feet of the ridge, where in each commences a sash 3x2 feet, which is hung in the middle, and connected with a rod, e,. which has at each window a ratchet- wheel playing into a ratchet on the window ; this rod may be turned at one end, and all the windows opened or shut at once, or each window may be disconnected by slipping its own ratchet-wheel along, and then be opened or shut independent of its fellows ; d is the supporting post, of which there are five, of cast iron ; these posts support and tie the ridge and the two sides of the roof. At 20 feet from one end there is a glass partition, which enables that portion to be shut off from the rest, and heated and cooled at wiU. The back wall is 7-^ feet high, and is two bricks thick ; it is solid, with the exception of the openings shown in the plan for ventilators, doors, windows, etc. Each wall and the centre posts rest on solid stone masonry, 2 feet deep. The house is heated by two pipes, which make the circuit of the inside under the side plant tables ; each pipe comes from the BSSi^^^sa boiler straight, a, and then sends oflF two branches at right angles, h, bending at the corners, and crossing each other at the front of the house op- posite the boiler, where each is depressed so as to return to the boiler below the point of depart- ure. Thus the house is uniformly warmed, each side receiving the water hot at starting, whilst in each the return water is cooled equally before returning to the boiler. A branch pipe crosses the house each side the partition, to make circulation in case we wish to heat one part more than the other. The boiler is in the lean-to shed back of the greenhouse, and is supplied with fresh water from the rain-water cistern, B, and when there is not rain enough to keep the cistern full it is filled by the force pump in the well. The furnace is partly above and partly below the 8 SEPTEMBER. floor of the shed, and the firehole and the coal are approached by steps. The coal cellar extends outside the building, where there is a coal trap. I is a chamber for a man to sleep in ; j, the shelves on which plants are to be potted, and under which pots, crocks, etc., are to be kept. The plants in the greenhouse are variously provided for according to their kinds and necessities. The table, e, in the centre, is for large plants, and those, like Camelias, which do not need the direct light. Under this table is room to lay away bulbs, and Fuchsias which, having blossomed in the summer, will be allowed to remain nearly dormant until growth recom- mences in spring, and, all other dormant plants. On the other shelves other plants will be kept, just as they need more or less direct light and heat. Along the rafters and crossing the glass in various places may be trained Eunning Roses, Passion-Flowers, etc. And now for the work ! The first of this month thoroughly ex- amine the house, — the glass, the paint, the shelves, — scrub all the wood-work clean, and thoroughly whitewash all portions exposed to mildew ; fumigate with sulphur, to kill red spiders, etc., before the plants are taken in ; paint the wood-work wherever water or wear has removed the paint, and make sure that no loose joints will ad- mit rain and cold. Collect at once leaf mould, good loam, and white sand enough for the compost for all your plants ; lay in your broken crocks and whole pots. Continue to pick off dead leaves ; prune and repot aU the stock plants not bedded in the ground; repot all that have outgrown their quarters, and remove the top mould from the others and add a fresh supply ; begin to take up and pot all the cuttings and layers made during the summer. Pot carefully a large quantity of Dwarf and Giant Chrysanthemums, Salvias, Car- nations, Gillyflowers, Ten-week Stocks, Tuberoses, Amaranths, and such other plants as may be just coming into bud, to be got ready to exhibit in the conservatory during October and November. Pot Neapolitan Violets, Cyclamen, Pansies, Chinese Primroses, Oxalis. Repot Heliotropes, Cinerarias, and Callas; separate and repot Mign- onette and Sweet Alyssum ; repot Verbenas for last time. "When they are potted, keep them in the shade for a few days, till they are established in the pots, and then put them on the shelves in the GEEENHOUSE. 9 greenhouse, from which they will be removed into the conservatory before the shelves will be wanted for the greenhouse plants proper. It is very necessary to attend to the large plants not hitherto renewed and refreshed this month, in order that they may make new roots before winter. The cuttings, etc., should be kept in the shade for about a fortnight, being watered' moderately. As soon as these plants are disposed of, plant your Ixias, La Perousias, and all tender bulbs in small pots, one or more together, as their size shall dictate ; after potting, set them oti the upper shelves near the glass ; water them but little till they begin to show leaves, as much water wiU rot them ; but after they begin to grow, give water as to other plants. Get all your tender stock plants into the house before the 15th of the month, and most of the more hardy ones which you propose to show during the season by the 20th, as a single night of severe cold, even without frost, might seriously injure the vigorous color of their foliage. The growth and success of pot plants depend very much on the compost used and the method of potting, which should be as fol- lows : The earth with which the pots are filled must not be too rich, as this tends to over-stimulate the young plant and change flower-buds into leaves ; besides, plants in a greenhouse may be fed like fires in a furnace ; if we want an increased development we can easily get it by watering with dilutions of manure ; or we can check the growth, if that be our wish, by withholding the usual supply of water. Plants, whether m the outside earth or in pots, derive but a small proportion of their nutriment from the earth in which they stand. Various experiments careftiUy tried, where all the modifying circumstances were controllable, have shown that however meagre the soil, even if it be pure-washed river sand, any plant selected could be made to thrive or dwindle just in propor- tion to the amount of simple or enriched water, or of pure or im- pregnated air, which should be supplied. Were there room in the present treatise to cite the experiments of Bousingault and others, we could prove that the judicious gardener, by studying the con- stituent parts of the plants he is growing and the constituent parts of the materials which seem most largely to contribute to their 10 SEPTEMBER. perfect development, can have them as much under his control as the engineer his engine. The experiments made in this matter have pertained to out-of-door culture, and were made with the hope of rendering the farmer more independent of varieties of soils and seasons in getting large crops, and they have shown most conclu- sively tl^at agriculture need not be a matter of chance, but that farming operations can be conducted with almost the same certainty as manufacturing. If this be true on the large scale of farming, where the temperature, atm'osphere, and rain are beyond control, how much more securely can the gardener guide the growth of his plants under a glass roof, where all the uncertain elements of growth can be supplied with graduated exactness. The earth in which we put plants may be considered in the light of a sponge which shall absorb, retain, and give out the food the plant needs to facilitate its perfect development. The essen- tials, therefore, are a carbonaceous character, as carbonaceous ma- terials are sponges for the absorption of the nutritious gasfes; a loose and porous mechanical texture which will allow the water applied to percolate readily to the fibrous roots of the plants, and then to drain away quickly if it be in excess ; and a due supply of those minerals usually called saltSj such as lime, potash, soda, etc., which in small but distinct amounts are aU important to the forma- tion of healthy vegetable tissue. Compost for potting. — Make your compost one-third leaf mould, one-third rich loam, one-third river sand ; mix these materials well together, and to every bushel or thereabouts (for there is no need of special care), about a shovelful of lime, ashes, or gypsum. Having your material ready, set your pot before you upon the potting shelf; fill it about one-flfth with broken crocks* for drain- age, as nothing injures plants more than to allow their roots to be supersaturated. Mildew, blight, a sickly growth, are all consequents of imperfect drainage, and with the single exception of too much * Oyster shells are as good as, and in the opinion of some cultivators better than, crocks for drainage, as the roots of the plant find in them ma- terial for food. GBEENHOUSE. 11 and injudiciously applied heat, nothing oftener deatroys plants than standing water. Were we oftener to think of the lesson which nature teaches us in the woods and fields, we should make fewer mistakes in this matter. No tree, shrub, or plant, that is a native of dry uplands, will thrive or even live when transplanted to a swamp ; and the native of a swamp will thrive no better if subjected to a corresponding change ; yet we must attribute the respective failures of the plants to too much or too little water. Having then the pot before us with the broken crocks in the bottom (which are the fragments of old and imperfect pots, hammered together till they are reduced to pieces varying from the size of a finger nail to an inch or more square), cover them about an inch deep (varying the depth a little to suit the plant in hand) with your compost ; take the plant in the left hand and set it into the pot, being careful not to set it deeper than it stood before, and keeping the crown of the roots (the point where the roots and stem join), just below the top of the pot ; with the right, hand, pour in the prepared compost on either side, occasionally settling the earth into the roots with the finger or with a stick, and gently shaking the plant that the earth shall be well packed among the small roots. Go on in this way till the pot is full ; then take it in both hands and slightly shake the pot, giving it a knock or jostle against the shelf, which will firmly settle all together and leave the plant standing steady and even in the middle of the pot. After this, shower it from the rose of the watering pot sufficiently to moisten the earth throughout. The plant must now be set in the shade and watered in the same way daily for ten days or a fortnight,' after which it may take its proper place on the greenhouse shelves. If the plant has been newly taken from the ground, the top should be judiciously pruned so as to balance the mutilation of the roots, and give it a well-proportioned shape. Cut away all the broken roots, and be careful in selecting your pot to get one large enough to contain the main roots without much bending. Remember, how- ever, that we do not depend upon the old roots for the main support of the plant ; for that, we look to the multitude of new and fibrous roots, which the treatment just described will cause to spring out from all parts of the old roots, and which will rapidly increase till 12 SEPTEMBER. they quite fill the pot. So long as the roots are thus making and fiUing the pot, the leaves and woody parts of the plant will increase, and there wiU be no indication of flowermg till the roots have oc- cupied all the space allotted to them. "With the compost just described, there will be no need of ma- nure-water for awhile, but when the flower-buds begin to form there will be too little nutriment in the earth to supply the new and increased demands of the plant, and to secure a satisfactory bloom, we must add occasionally a little guano or liquid manure to the water. The best way to prepare a liquid manure, is to set upon a shelf in some convenient place an old vinegar or other barrel that is tight, provided with a faucet. The shelf must be high enough to allow a watering pot or pail to stand under the faucet. In the bottom of this barrel, and just above the faucet, make a staging of two sets of parallel strips of wood, crossed at right an- gles, upon which the manure may rest, and through which the water may run as it percolates the manure. In the cut, the dotted lines on the barrel show the situa^- tion of the staging, which is also shown by itself. This staging will prevent the ma- nure from passing into the fau- cet and choking it. Fill the barrel thus prepared nearly full of stable-dung, and tread it down well. Pour in water slowly till the barrel is full ; let it stand for two or three days before you begin to draw oif. At first this water must be diluted to be safely used, — one part manure-water to at least three of pure water, — but as the plant becomes accus- tomed to it, stronger doses may be given. Such a barrel of ma- nure will bear several saturations with water before all its strength is drawn out. If guano is used, put one-quarter of a pound to two gallons of water ; let it stand twenty-four hours, then use like the water from the barrel. If the guano-water is prepared in a barrel, the staging must be covered with a fine wire or a cloth-strainer, to retain the GBEENHOUSK. 13 finer particles. This proportion of guano to water is advised on the supposition that the guano is of the best quahty. Such guano is, however, scarcely to be obtained, and consequently the best way is to make what seems a solution of moderate strength, and then be guided by experience as to weakening or strengthening it. This application of liquid manure is to be continued only while the buds are forming, as it will, if used afier they begin to expand, often stimulate the plant enough to turn them into leaves. This is particularly the case with hard wooded plants like Daphnes, Camelias, etc., to which Uquid manure should be applied only dur- ing the dormant or growing, not the blossoming, season. It seldom happens to Eoses or Pelargoniums, as they are gross feeders. Surprising as are the effects of liquid manure, they are no more than should be expected, for the food of plants must be diluted before it can be absorbed by the spongioles of the roots, and such dilution is the only chemical or mechanical means to which nature resorts for the development of the crops, flowers, etc., in the fields. The power which guano in solution exerts, is greater than that of any other manure, and indeed in its dry state it is likely to injure rather than benefit vegetation. In the greenhouse, whether ap- plied as we have directed, or put on the surface in powder, no in- jury need be apprehended, as the daily watering will in the latter case soon carry it below the surface ; but when used on a large scale in agriculture, whether as a top-dressing or ploughed in, its good effect depends entirely on the amount of rain that falls during the season. Stock Plants. — As yet we have made no mention of other classes of plants which are to be attended to in August. First, — Stock pot plants. These will generally be Camelias, Daphnes, Cape Jessamines, Laurestinus, Lemon Verbenas, and other hard wooded plants which grow too rankly when planted in the ground, or which if planted out would be liable to injury from sun, wind, and transplantation. The way to treat such plants in the late spring or early summer will of course be described when we arrive at the proper time. What we have now to do is to take them as we find them. Such of them as have outgrown their pots 14 SEPTEMBER. find can be repotted, should, before they start afresh to grow, be re- moved into pots or tubs a size or two larger than the old. Make the drainage as before described; then examine the ball which you have taken out of the old pot, and if there are any signs of worms, hunt them out and kill them ; remove all dead roots, score the sides of the ball a little, if it is much matted together, so that in healing the old wounds the plant will naturally throw out new fibrous roots from the calluses ; remove the old earth from the top of the ball till you come to the roots. Now set it on the earth which covers the drainage in the new pot, and fill in between the ball and the sides of the pot with the fresh compost, and work this in well with a stick ; then shake together ; finally add fresh earth to the top of the bared roots till the pot is full. Water and treat as in other cases, although it will not be necessary to defer putting these plants at once into their final places in the greenhouse. Water Camelias abundantly as they start to grow. Give Azaleas less water and more sun. House Euphorbias. An excellent pot for such plants wUl be shown by and by. Another class of plants includes those, which, owing to size or other peculiarities, cannot be repotted. In dealing with these, re- move the upper earth in the pot down to the roots, and replace it with compost. They will need manure-water oftener than the others. . Pinch back roses in pots, — make cuttings of Verbenas etc., to blossom late in the spring ; as the Fuchsias, etc., lose leaves give little water and keep in the shade till spring. CONSTRUCTION. The greenhouse on our estate, as shown by the plan, is a span- roofed house with straight sashes. The use to which any glass- roofed structure is to be put should decide its character. A build- ing for the growth of grapes or fruit, where only one side is to be exposed to the light, may with some propriety be a lean-to house (i.e., one of its sides may be a perpendicular, dark wall) ; but where plants which should be equally well grown on all sides are to be cultivated, the light should be admitted from as many points as possible. A distinguished English writer says : " Of all forms for GREENHOUSE. 15 a geeenhouse, that of a lean-to is decidedly the worst, and that of a span or curvilinear the best." When trained upon walls or trellises peaches and vines may be grown to the greatest advantage in lean-to houses, but greenhouse plants seldom can, as'the merits of the latter greatly depend upon symmetry of form, and this cannot be attained unless every part of the plant be equally exposed to light, air, and sunshine. " It seems now almost universally admitted that the span or cur- vilinear form of roof is best adapted for this purpose ; ■ and the ends of the house should front north and south, although under peculiar circumsfances they may be usefully constructed to face the east and west ; the more so if they are glass on all sides to within a foot or so of the ground." It will be seen that this author uses the terms span and curvi- linear as alike distinct from " lean-to," although they are far from being so. A span-roof, as we have shown, is ordinarily shaped with the sashes and the lines of the roof straight. But the lines of roof and sash in a span- roof may be curvilinear, and there may be the same differ- ences in the lines of a lean-to roof, there being no more re- striction to straight lines in this than in a span-roof. To appreciate the respective advantages of these different forms, we must consider why glass is used for a roof. However much artificial heat fire will give, we must, to grow perfect plants, depend on the sun for light and heat ; yet the position of the sun in the heavens differs greatly in different months. Out-of-door plants, in the growing season, have the sun's rays nearly vertical for a part of the day, and the vertical rays are the hottest. In greenhouses the order of the seasons is reversed, and the growing season is at the time when the sun's altitude is low, and his rays relative to the earth's surface never approximate to the vertical direction. Our aim must therefore be to arrange our glass roof so that the rays shall strike it nearly at a right angle. With a recti- linear roof, — whether " span " or " lean-to," — some constant angle is selected ; such, perhaps, as will secure the perpendicularity dur- 16 SEPTEMBER. ing the coldest months, and as the sun increases his altitude, this angle will become more or less desirable, and we must then de- pend upon the increase in the hours of sunshine, so that a decrease in quality may be made up by increase in quantity ; or we can in- crease artificial heat. But with a curvilinear roof, this difiiculty is lessened, as some part of its changing form wiU always be nearly perpendicular to the line of incidence of the rays. There is, however, an objection to curved roofs. They are more expensive to build, because of the difficulty with which wood is bent to curves without injuring its strength. Curved roofs are therefore generally made of metal, which can be cast of any strength and shape required. This change increases the expense as well as the liability to damage from expansion and contraction in a climate of such extremes as ours. Still, when a greenhouse is to be built by a person witlj money enough to allow of his considering the best of its kind to be an essential feature in economy, a curviUnear span-roof is beyond question the best for all plants which Nature intends to be sym- metrical. Both these styles of houses may be rendered more effective still by the application of the ridge and furrow sash, which is described in another place. This distinction between plants which branch in many directions and fruit trees and vines, whether grape or flowering, must be kept constantly in mind while discussing glass structures, as neglect of the peculiar wants of the different plants the gardener may wish to cultivate, has been the cause of the almost complete uselessness of many very elaborate and expensive glass houses. A greenhouse is a building in which plants may be stored for the winter, and in which a pioderate growth may be promoted ; we may, if we please, divide the house so that some portions can be heated hotter than others, and the plants in it forced more rapidly for exhibition in the conservatory, when in bloom ; but as a whole building it should be a cold rather than a hot house. Some portions of the floors of greenhouses — around the sup- porting posts, and at the back walls and ends, may be filled in with loam, in which to plant vines of different species, Roses, Passion- GREENHOUSE. 17 Flowers, etc., to be trained up against the glass ; but this space should never be used for grapes or fruit unless necessity compels. I shall treat this subject more freely, when we come to it in its proper order. In all greenhouses where flowering vines are planted in the man- ner we describe, the ground must be forked over in the month of September, the old loam removed from the surface roots and new added. If this is done early, they will make new fibres and be ready for a rapid and healthy growth during the winter. I shall give no space to the consideration of hothouses proper, as we have none on our place. They are chiefly used for growing Pineapples, exotic fruits, and orchidaceous plants. Pleasant as it is to grow these varieties, it is very expensive and troublesome, and not in accordance with a moderate income. Whoever wishes to indulge in this kind of culture must consult more, elaborate treatises than this. The principles of management are very like those for the greenhouse, grapery, and conservatory, only, carried to a higher point. 2* CHAPTER ni. CONSERTATORT. During September there is little to be done in the conservatory. This building differs from any of the glass structures already described, inasmuch as it is intended for the exhibition of specimen flowers, and for growing but few plants, such as flowering vines, which may be' planted in the earth under the floor, Roses, etc., which grow in beds prepared like those of the out-of-door garden, or some very large plants, which need room and light rather than heat. It should, if possible, be connected with the dwelling, and open out of those rooms most frequented by the family. In it may he a fountain basin for fish, aquariums, or birds, busts, statues. If there is room, a portion should be raised a little higher than the rest, and be furnished with seats and a table for the convenience of the ladies of the' family, should they wish to sit there with work or books, and enjoy the pleasure which the fragrance and sight of beautiful plants must always give. Of all things connected with gardening none is so misunderstood as the conservatory. We hear the greatest variety of buUdings called by that name. Sometimes it is that hybrid which necessity alone can excuse, a greenhouse where plants grow on the shelves, and grapes on the rafters ; and sometimes it is a pit, where a large bed of earth is boxed up, in which are planted flowering vines, to run over the back or walls of the building, while in the middle and front, Roses, Heliotropes, etc., grow ; on a shelf directly in front — under the eaves as it were — is a collection of other plants, such as are most often subjected to winter culture. Both these arrangements, for the culture of plants in winter, ha-ve their merits, and are very desirable, but neither of them is a con- servatory. That building stands in relation to the other hothouses B.mz. INDEX TO CONSERVATORY. A, Ground Plan. B, Elevation. No. 1. d, groups of plants in pots ; E, beds of plants, as Roses, etc.; /, j, staging full of plants ; h, h, small beds of Verbenas, etc. ; m, m, posts of Conservatory, covered with vines ; n, n, busts and statuary ; o, o, large statues , p, p, standing baskets of flowers ; R, R, doors ; s, s, ground glass windows to house ; x, x, hot-water pipes ; g, g, basins for fish, etc. No. 2. c 0, 0. I, Wall of house ; ;, gutter , y, ventilator ; b, pipes for heating beds ; " hanging baskets ; v, moulding to connect house and roof. CONSEEVATORTT. 19 asthe drawing-room of a fine house to the common parlor or sitting- room. In other plant-houses plants may be cultivated, to be carried, when in perfection, into the more light and airy conservatory, to be admired, and after their beauty is passed, to be removed, their places being filled by a new set. The pit we have described comes near-, est, in point of flowers and character, to the conservatory, but is a hybrid between it and the greenhouse. The confusion arises from our American passion for large, impor- tant names ; from that false taste and mistaken judgment which ihinks to paLtu off an inferior article for a better, by giving it a high- sounding title. I would not be understood to depreciate any build- ing which holds the most humble collection of plants, and shall, as I continue, give directions for the construction of those which can be most easily and cheaply made and taken care of; but I do dis- like that love of praise which is not contented with the approval of the discriminating, but resorts to the flimsy disguise of a misused name, to entrap the admiration of those, who, knowing nothing of the subject, gapingly wonder at the "learning" that famUiarly calls common things by uncommon names. The work in the conservatory for this month is (as in the other glass-houses) to paint, to clean, to renew the earth about the roots of all plants that stand in beds ; wherever this last is difiicult or impos- sible, owing to the presence of floor or pavement, give, when you' water, strong manure-water. Prune the vines, remove all dead or superfluous wood, pick off decaying leaves, thoroughly syringe all the plants, and see that the heating apparatus is in order. Plans for the conservatory should be conceived and settled on in May, in order that the foundation may be built, and the soil may be prepared, and such flowering vines planted as we propose to have, that they may have the summer to grow in, and may be ready to blossom in the winter. We should finish our conservatory the last of August or middle of September, so as to have it covered in before frost comes. The plan shows a conservatory attached to the dwelling-house on the east, and designated by the letter C in the index. It is a semicir- cular building, covering the windows of the dining-room and kitchen, and entered through a French window from the dining-room and 20 SEPTEMBER. parlor. The kitchen windows are of rough glass, so as to transmit light without looking into the conservatory. Its length on the front of the main house is 31 feet; on the kitchen, 15 feet; on the end of the main house, 19 feet; the depth in front is 19 feet; on , the side, 15 feet ; the porch is 10 x 10. Plate No. 1 shows the ground plan. The whole front floor, not occupied by plants, is covered with alternate flags of purple and green slate ; Malone sandstone, or strips of hard pine may be used. The outside foundation is a stone wall, 3x4 feet ; above the base rises an ornamental brick wall, 3 feet, with ventilators, as in tlie greenhouse, opposite the hot-water pipes, and opening and shutting in sections — the curved form of the house making it impossible to move all at once ; they are 4 feet apart, and 1 foot square. The hot-water pipes and boiler are similar to those in the greenhouse ; the boiler is in a shed at the kitchen corner of the house, and not shown in the plan ; the pipes surround the porch, or may cross it under the floor. Where they cross the pathway, and would be stumbled over if on its level, they sink on one side and rise again on the other, as in the greenhouse. No such rise and fall is necessary where they cross the entrance from the parlor, as the conservatory floor is there sufficiently above the level of the parlor floor to let the pipes pass under. The smoke flues traverse the walk along the front and return along the back of the conservatory into the kitchen chimney. Above the brick wall rises a perpendicular glass front, 8 feet high, and from the top of this the glass roof springs back to the main wall of the house in a curvilinear manner. This gives an immense amount of light, and demands a great deal of heat to warm it properly. It is ventilated by a revolving sash in the mid- dle of the top, and by ventilation through the wall of the house, similar to the greenhouse. The ground floor is not covered to its utmost capacity, but is ar- ranged so as to give as pleasant an effect as p'ossible. Internal Treatment. — d represents groups of plants standing CONSERVATORY. 21 in pots, such as Camelias, Daphnes, Cape Jessamines, ljb,urestinus, PettQsporums, Oranges, etc. They may be kept here constantly, or be brought in when about to flower, e marks beds of plants, Roses, Geraniums, Heliotropes, etc. These beds are 4 feet deep, well drained at bottom, then filled in 18 inches with stones, which are covered with strips of turf 3 inches thick, to prevent the fine loam being washed away ; then comes a foot of oyster shells, charcoal, bones ; then a foot of rich loam. The plants growing here are never moved, but are not watered during the summer more than enough to keep them alive, so that they are virtually dormant at that season, but grow and blossom most luxuriantly in winter, ff are stagings filled with plants from the greenhouse, ready to blos- som ; a succession may easily be kept up if a little care be taken ; M are beds similar to e, but smaller, and fiUed with bulbs. Verbe- nas, etc. ; mm represent the posts of the conservatory, which, in No. 2, are shown covered with vines ; rm are busts or any small statuary; oo, large statues of a character adapted to gardens, Flora, Pomona etc. ; pp, standing baskets of flowers ; ER, doors ; ss, ground-glass windows leading into the house ; xx, hot-water pipes ; gg, basins for fish, aquariums, or fountains. In No. 2, c shows the wall of house ; j, gutter ; y, ventilator ; h, pipes for heating beds ; oo, hanging baskets ; v, moulding to con- nect house and roof. Expense. — A conservatory of this kind would be a real win- ter garden, and would give more pleasure than any greenhouse. Water would be supplied from the house cistern, and could, be made to serve many ornamental purposes. Such a building would, of course, be expensive, but nothing for which money is ordinarily expended would give a larger return in satisfaction. As the con- servatory need not be stocked tUl next month, we reserve a list of plants for it till then. CHAPTER IV. GRAPERY. By referring to the index of our plan, you will find the grapery marked by the letter B. It is quite a large building, eighty feet long ; two-thirds is lean-to, one-third span ; and it is filled witli vines. It is divided by two glass partitions into three parts, so arranged that the heat may be increased or diminished in either at pleasure, thus enabling us to have a succession of fruits at those seasons of the year when it is most desirable. The space on the floor of the cold grapery, where in greenhouses would be a staging for the culture and exhibition of plants, is an espalier on which are Peaches, Nectarines, and Cherries. The sections of this house have vines in them, respectively two, three, and four years old, and are, during this month, in very dif- ferent conditions. The central portion is the cold grapery, where it is but rarely necessary to have any artificial heat, and which ripens its crop in August and September. The left section is to be a retarding-house, whose fruit is to be fit for use in December, January, or February. The right side is a forcing house, where the fruit will be ripe in June, July, or earlier, according to the age of the plant forced. For details of this building, a description of the border, etc., see the October work for the grapery. Forcing-House. — In September, examine your forcing-house, clean the sashes, repair glass, paint or whitewash the wood-work, and get all things ready for work. As the evenings begin to cool, be careful to close the doors and sashes, and if any sudden frosts make it necessary, draw the shutters up over the sashes. Our vines having been planted three years, we may this year begin forcing with vigor. Much care should be taken in a forcing-house, lest being tempted 22 GRAPEEY. 23 by a desire for a large and early crop, wliich may remunerate us for previous outlay, we force the vines when young at too early a month in the year. A forcing-house reverses nature's order and converts winter into summer ; and in managing it, we must be careful to be governed by the corresponding natural analogies. Out-of-door plants move slowly from frozen ground and cold air to thawed earth and genial temperatures. Therefore, our aim in the forcing-house must be to keep it as cool as possible in September, without subjecting the roots or vines to a chill. We may begin forcing this year at least fifteen days earlier than last. In this connection, I can do no better than to quote from J. F. Allen's treatise on the grape, as there is no more skilful or successful culti- vator of the grape in this latitude. " If it is intended to winter-force, you must not commence the process the first year before the first of March ; the second year you may begin the middle of February ; the third year, the first of February ; and so on every year until you reach the first of December ; beyond this you can hardly go, as this allows only time to prune and clean the vine after it has gone to rest." We shall in this, the third year of our forcing-house, begin to force about the fii-st of February. Eetaeding-House. — The vines in the retarding-house are ripening their second crop of fruit. Having thinned the grapes in August, there is but little to do in September, excepting to moderate the growth as much as possible by keeping the house cool when the sun shines. It is important to keep the house dry to avoid dan- ger of mildew ; shut the doors and sashes as the nights grow cool ; if there is any appearance of mildew, dust the vines with flowers of sulphur, and shut up tight at night. Cold Geapert. — In the cold grapery at the first of the month there will be a little fruit ripening and a little ripe. There should be but little, taking it altogether, as a vine two years old is too young to be allowed to bear any thing but specimen bunches. It is true, that vines of that age will often bear heavily if allowed, but the final effect of this is injurious, and only tends to weaken the 24 SEPTEMBER. l)lant and reduce its capability to bear large and steady crops hereafter. Pinch back fruit and fig-trees in pots, to ripen and improve the wood. Having followed the directions for the earlier months (cal- endar) of this year, in August, or September — " You may begin at the lower part of the cane, and with a sharp knife cut clean out all the laterals for eight or nine feet, leaving those on the upper part of the cane for the autumn pruning. Be careful in doing this not to injure the bud or leaf of the cane where you cut, for from this eye your fruit is to come the next summer." If there are any bunches of fruit on the vines, keep your house as cool and dry as possible, as this is the only means of preserving the fruit ; either extra heat or moisture will occasion mildew or decay. CHAPTER V. FLOWEE-GAEDEN. We have already said that in September the flower-garden is in its most satisfactory condition ; we should have limited our assertion to the first half of the month, after which time the work of disrob- ing begins. Many plants must be taken up, to be removed to the greenhouse, and some of the beds must be dug over for planting bulbs. Bulbs may be planted in any of the autumn months, until the ground is frozen, the earher the better, for many of them will make fibrous roots in the fall, and thus be ready to grow more rapidly and vigorously in the spring ; and it will generally be found that the earliest bulbs to blossom, of a given variety, are those which were earliest planted. In this month, as before, go over the beds repeatedly with knife and string, cutting out the old blossom stalks, and tying up the too drooping branches of the erect species of plants. Particularly watch the Dahlias, which by this time have grown large and top- heavy ; a single high wind will prostrate every Dahlia that is not well secured, and thus destroy the hopes of a season. The Dahlia will blossom every month from July to October, if forced early enough, but will give its best blossoms only as the nights grow cool and long. Bedding Plants. — Get up the tender greenhouse plants which are to be wintered before the 15th of this month ; for although there is often fine weather till October, there will be an occasional frost, which will cut off every tender plant. As you begin jto transplant, the beds wiU have a very seedy and dismantled appear- ance, and your judgment as a gardener will become apparent in the manner ia which you conceal the losses made by transplanting. 3 25 26 SEPTEMBER. The more hardy plants, like Carnations, Verbenas, Lantanas, and Pelargoniums may remain in the ground till October. In Septem- ber we expect the last blossoms of the Perpetual Roses. Bulbs. — Overhaul the bulbs collected for the spring blossoms, ascertain the number you have of each variety, and how much surface they will cover ; then decide what beds shall be devoted to bulbs ; take out every thing in them, unless it be Roses or peren- nial roots, dig them over thoroughly, adding a good dressing of well-rotted manure. This work cannot be too thoroughly done, as upon it depends the satisfactory blossom we hope for in the sprirtg. Having prepared your beds, towards the last of the month (25th, perhaps), begin to plant, although this may be deferred till the first of October. The amount of earth required over a bulb differs with the variety, but none need more than three or four inches. Where it is desirable to produce any given eifect, say of color, with Hyacinths, Tulips, or Crocusses, lay them out around the bed on the surface in their proper places before beginning to plant, with a view to producing whatever effects you fancy, according to the variety ; Tulips and Hyacinths from six to nine inches apart ; Cro- cusses, two or three inches ; the larger bulbs from three to four. By using bulbs of well-known colors and character, the most varied effects you wish may be produced with certainty. Where we wish a succession of bloom, nothing is more easily procured ; we have only to plant bulbs of the earlier and later varieties. A very pleasant effect is got by adding to the beds some Pansies, as they blossom as soon as the snow is fairly gone, and last till hot weather. Snowdrops come first, then Crocusses, then Pan- sies, then Hyacinths, Narcissuses, Tulips, Daffodils, Single and Double Jonquils, etc. Planting. — Having laid out the bulbs as described, take a tin tube in the shape of a truncated cone, 6 inches long, about 3 inches in diameter at the large end, at the smaller, 1^ or 2 inches ; take the bulb in your left hand, in your right, the tube ; press the small end down into the earth as far as you wish to set the bulb 4 FLOWER-GAKDEN. 27 inches for Tulips, etc., 1^ for Crocusses, — drawing up the tube, you will find it filled with earth as high as it was pressed deep into the ground, its tapering shape preventing the earth in the upper and larger end from falling out at the smaller. Now set the bulb down at the bottom of the hole, its pointed end up. If it is a Hyacinth, shake a little sand over it ; then invert the tin tube over it, and the earth removed to make the hole will be replaced. This will be found to be the most neat and rapid way of planting bulbs. Any tinman will make such a tube for ten cents. Tdhps. — Wlien choice Tulips are to be planted, a deal of care must be taken to arrange colors and sizes so that the tallest may be in the middle and the smaller towards the edge of the bed. Connoisseurs in tulips, who pride themselves on the splendor and variety of their bulbs, resort to very elaborate preparation in the way of soil, exposure, size of bed, number of rows, etc. ; but this is troublesome, and undesirable to the -general cultivator, who does not wish his whole satisfaction in his flowers to be destroyed by the trouble of taking care of them. The utmost that the Tuhp demands is to have the bed in a rather high and airy situation, sheltered from the prevalent winds, and on a light rich soil. All other details may be arranged to suit the cultivator. Htacikths, — too, have often been made the subject of elabo- rate memoirs. Were it necessary to resort to the care insisted on by the writers of these directions, Hyacinths would cause more trouble than they are worth. It is enough to observe the directions just given for Tulips. With the other common bulbs we may be still less particular. When the amateur desires variety rather than whole beds of one kind, bulbs may be planted singly, or in groups, about the bordefs, among perennial roots, etc. ,When they are to be planted in this manner, it would be well to take with you a wheelbarrow of rich mould, and put a spadeful in the place where you are about to set the bulb, as all blossom well in proportion to the richness of the earth immediately surrounding them. Plant during this month 28 SEPTEMBEK. Pansies among your bulbs as just described, or in a bed by them- selves, or in the borders. The Pansies to be set out are those of which the seeds were planted in June ; by transplanting now, they will be enabled to get well rooted and make some growth before win- ter. They like a rich soil, and pay well for it. Old plants can be divided, and cuttings be made. The Polyanthus may appropriately ,be mixed with bulbs to vary eiFects ; transplant this month. The ordinary Polyanthus needs no specially prepared soil. Plant White Lilies early this month. Late in the month divide and transplant, or reset the perennial roots. Make beds for them by themselves, or in common with other plants, but endeavor to get, as you easily may, such a suc- cession of perennials as will give some flowers during all the grow- ing months, from May to October. Having a greenhouse to sup- ply an unlimited amount of bedding plants, it will be well to leave gaps among the perennials, in which to set Verbenas, Heliotropes, Geraniums, Salvias, so that their successive and late blossoms may come in to fill the spaces left by dying perennials. Florists' Flowers. — Some writers have indulged in lengthy directions for the growth of Auriculas, Eanunculuses, and other plants, which I can consider in this latitude only as denizens of tlie greenhouse and hotbed, and as such I shall treat them. Be careful now to watch the Chrysanthemums, both Giant and Dwarf, for the gaiety of the garden in October and November must depend upon them. Tie them well up to sticks, and keep out the weeds, and do not allow any perennials or bedding plants to crowd them, and thus impair their vigor. Make beds of Picotees and Carnations agreeably to directions in July. As there are in our flower-garden no beds for the bulbs or the per- ennials of which we have been speaking, we will now proceed to make them. Refer to the enlarged plan of the flower-garden, where we can have better opportunity to describe the work intelligibly than in the narrow limits of the general plan. We will give the method of staking out two of the beds and let that suffice for all. First, carefully measure the garden and its walks, and lay it FLOWER-GABDEN. 29 down on paper. Then draw on the plan such beds as you know will produce a good effect when judiciously planted. Remember 'particularly, that the prettiness of the shape of flower-beds is not of the least consequence, but that all beds should be of such shapes as wiU give a good effect individually or collectively, when planted. Make the indentations as large as possible, as they will then be more eseily kept free from weeds and grass ; avoid sharp points for the same reason ; give as much variety to the outline as you can, making your curves easy and graceful. To STAKE OUT A RouND Bed. — Select a point for the centre, where drive a round stake ; take a rope with a loop at the end, put the loop over the stake ; hold the rope in the left hand as far frorn the stake as one-half the diameter of the proposed bed ; take a handfiil of stakes in the other hand ; walk forward at the full length thus taken, and put in a stake every three paces. When you return to the point of departure, the stakes set will make a circle on the ground. To STAKE OUT AN OvAL is more difficult. Decide upon the length of the largest diameter, — say 20 feet ; draw this line at some scale on paper ; draw another line cutting the first in the mid- dle and at right angles. This second line is the short diameter of the proposed oval, 8 feet, — 4 feet on each side the long diameter. Draw around these lines such an oval as wUl suit you ; at every two feet draw a line from one side to the other, at right an- gles with the long diameter : the first line ( parallel with the short diameter. Measure these lines and note on each its length (by the scale of the first line). Go to the garden, and select the spot for the oval ; stake out a long diam- eter, A B, 20 feet long, parallel to the path or border on which you wish to make the bod ; or, if that be curved, connect two points in it by a straight line, and make A B parallel to this, and the proper number of feet distant from it. Find the middle of the line, 10 feet from ea<"h end, and liere set a stake C ; take a tape line and pin its ring or end to this centre stake ; measure back on the di- 3* S-S' 30 SEPTEMBER. ameter 3 feet to b, where set another stake ; draw the tape firmly round this last stake ; follow the tape till you come to the 12 feet mark, and fasten the tape at this mark to the centre stake again C. The tape will now be fast to the middle stake by both its ends. Find on the tape the 8 feet mark, and holding there, draw the tape out tight either side the 20 feet diameter ; 'at this point set another stake a ; your three stakes will now mark on the ground the angles of a triangle ah c, and the last-placed stake will mark the centre of one of the sides of the oval. Find the other side in the same manner. Measure the line A B, as in the figure, into two feet lengths ; at each end of these points meas- - ure out a line parallel to the short diameter c a (just obtained on the ground), propor- tionate to the corresponding line on your plan. When all are staked out, draw up the middle line of stakes, and the oval is complete. Another method of doing the same thing is described in common mathematical treatises, but it applies only to the regular ellipse drawn on a smooth surface ; among bushes or tall herbaceous plants it would be impracticable. It is as follows : stake out the line A B for the long diameter of the ellipse ; find two points a, h, which shall be as far from A and B respectively, as one-quarter the short diameter of the ellipse ; fasten to the points a, h, a cord as long as the line A B ; press a sharp-pointed stake against the cord, so that it may loop about it, and draw it back on the line A B to either extremity ; then carry it toward the other extremity in such curve as will keep the cord constantly taut, marking out your course meanwhile with the pomt dragged on the ground, and you will describe the curve A C B as in the ^ -^^^^ diagram. Having changed the stake to a/_ , , \r the other side of the cord, repeat the oper- ation and complete the ellipse. To stake out an irregular figure for a bed, a different method is followed. Suppose it to be the bed A on the plan. Draw as before, on paper, a line A B to a scale ; make it as long as the proposed bed. FLOWER-GARDEN. 31 e" t: : d i k I Tti and let it touch the beds at the points c i. Now on the plan meas- ure the distance, the outline of the bed and the path at various points on the line A B ; these points are a h c d, etc., and may be any distance apart, but whatever that dis- tance is, note it care- fully on the plan. At these points erect perpendiculars, till they touch either the outline of the bed, the path, or the border ; measure the- length of these perpcspdiculars, and put these lengths down, each on its proper line. With this preparation go out and stake out the line A B as far from the path or border as the length of the lines cc' and dd!. Now divide A B into a b c d e, etc., measure out on the ground the lines aa' cc' dd' etc (full size), perpendicular to A B, and stake as you measure. When this is done, remove the stakes that merely mark the line A B, and you have your figure ; and however irregular this figure, this is the best way to stake it out. There need never be any' trouble in getting one line perpendicular to another on the ground, if you remember the process followed in staking out the oval. That method of getting a right angle is embodied in the mathe- matical proposition that the square of the hypothenuse of a rights angled triangle is equal to tlie sum of the squares of the other two sides. To proceed with the work. After staking out all the beds, se- lect those which are to be devoted entirely to bulbs, as a b cf, marked on the index by a star.* Prepare them as we have di- rected, and plant to suit your taste. The index shows how they are planted on our plan. The other beds may be planted at will ; the bulbs in bunches and groups (see index), the other space filled with perennials and bedding-out plants. * See p. 726. CHAPTER VI. KIT CHEN-GAED EN. The kitchen-garden must be closely watched from February to December, although September needs as little attention as any month. Seed-beds are now to be prepared for the growth of va- rious salads for winter and spring use, and to start some early spring vegetables. It is not generally known that much spring labor with hotbeds could be saved, if attention were given during this and the next month to growing young plants of those vegeta- bles most in demand in the spring. Being once well stArted, they may be pricked out in cold frames during October and No- vember, and being covered with boards, or leaves, will be found ready to transplant and grow as soon as the frost leaves the ground fit for culture. To plant seeds, select a warm, moist place ; fork the land over, mixing in well-rotted manure ; rake the surface thoroughly to re- duce it to the finest possible condition ; then sow the seeds in drills six inches apart, if they are to be covered with hotbed frames for the winter ; a foot apart if they are to remain in the open ground. Spinach should be sowed in long beds, rows a foot apart ; cover the seeds about half an inch deep, and roll in well. All plants intended for early spring culture must be sown before the middle of this month, care being taken that they do not get too for- ward. If they grow large they are very apt to run to flowers in the spring, before they are in condition for the table. They may be retarded at pleasure by several transplantings in the course of the autumn. Lettuce and Cabbage, the latter for greens and early heads, may be started, and kept in frames as we have just mentioned. Salads for winter and spring are not as much cultivated in Massachusetts as in the neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia. 32 KITCHEN-GAKDEN. 33 Earth up advancing crops of Celery once a fortnight, being very careful never to do it when wet with rain or dew, as it causes rust, and also never to cover the heart ; treat Cardoon and Artichoke Chard in the same way; transplant and trench Endive and Sea Kale; hoe beds and clear the plants of Sea Kale, Chiccory, and similar veg- etables. Watch early Cauliflowers, and gather their heads, as also Broccoli, before too much advanced. The earliest kinds of Celery may be dug towards the end of the month. Peru and Lima Beans will be getting fit for use. Sow seeds of small salads, as hitherto ; likewise beds of Prickly-seeded Spinach. Radishes sowed now wiU be ready for the table by winter. Okra must be used frequently, as it will be cut off by early frosts. Any herbs not yet gathered, save immediately. As Onions ripen, gather and dry them. When the neck of the Onion shrinks, gather them ; lay tiiem in heaps to dry for ten days or a fortnight, according to the weather, and then house. If the fruit on the trees is troubled with wasps and bees, hang some wide-mouth bottles half full of molasses, or sugar and water, about them. Many will be caught and destroyed ; they go in but are unable to return. Fkuits in Kitchen-Gahden. — It will be seen by reference to the plan that we include many kinds of fruit in this garden, such as Strawberries, Currants, Raspberries, Gooseberries, Black- berries, and Thimbleberries, Quinces, Filberts, and espaliered fruit. These fruits belong to the kitchen-garden only, as they are not grown in quantities for the market, but as a table sup- ply, and require an amount of attention not demanded by other orcharding. Steawbeeeies. — Early in this month it is a common practice to reset Strawberry beds ; and when the land is moist, or there is a prospect of a wet season, no month is better for this purpose; work is now less presskig than in the spring, and plants well started get several months to grow, and will bear some fruit in the spring. Avoid, if possible, resetting the bed in the place of the old, as all plants are benefited by the rotation of crops ; and where Straw- berries have been cultivated several years in succession, they are 34 SEPTEMBER. never so good as on fresh land. In preparing the bed, dig it deep, and give a liberal dressing of manure, as it is difficult to manure the strawberry crop after it has begun to grow, though no crop pays better for large supplies of liquid manure during the time of setting and ripening fruit. Select good, healthy, year-old plants ; cut oflF all but two, or at the most three, leaves, and shorten runners. Hold the plant in your left hand, taking your dibble in the right (the dibble may be the handle of an old spade or shovel cut off eight or ten inches below the cross-bar, and roughly pointed, or a stout bit of hard wood eight or ten inches long, bent on itself at a right angle, and pointed) ; press the dibble into the ground about three inches which will make a smooth hole ; as you withdraw the dibble, set the plant into the hole. Now re-insert the dibble, first on one, then on the other side of the plant, at a re-entering angle of about 45° to the per- pendicular hole first made, and press the earth closely up to the roots of the plant. This is the most rapid and effective way of transplanting all plants of which large numbers are required. The rows of Strawberries should be six inches apart and three rows to the bed. Some cultivators are now more in favor of a single row and no beds ; each row being two to three feet from its neighbor. This method allows the fruit to be picked more easily than any other, but occupies more room and requires more labor in cultiva- tion. ■ When it is desirable to transplant Strawberries or any other fiiiit with extra care, so as not to interfere with their growth, it is well to use some one of the English or French transplanters, of which a specimen is shown in the cut The arm a, is ratchetted and swings on a point b, and fastens on a tooth c. Lower the arm a, and it drops off the tooth c, and opens the cylinder at the bottom of the instrument, as shown in the cut ; now drive the open bottom firmly down on each side the plant to be re- moved until its upper edge is level with the ground ; take one KITCHEN-GAEDEN. '3S of the Stilts in each hand and press them apart This brings the two parts of the cylinder together and compresses the earth firmly about the roots of the plant within ; now fasten it in this position by letting the arm a, bite on the tooth c. Here the whole is in a compact box, and a little lifting strength being applied to the arm a, will take the plant, roots, earth, and all out of the ground. We may now carry it as far as we please, and having dug a hole the size of the cylinder, set it into it, fill in the earth closely about it, unlatch a, and drawing the stilts together slightly raise the instrument by an easy and slow movement, leaving the plant in the ground. Transplarti^ ing accomplished in this way never checks growth for a moment, but is obviously too slow a process to be used on a large scale.', In selecting Strawberry plants, bear in mind that some varieties are staminate, or male, and have but few pistillate or female flowers, and consequently are small bearers, whilst other varieties are the opposite. If we get a large proportion of the staminate, our trouble is useless ; if too large a proportion of the pistillate, a fail- ure of fruit often follows from deficient impregnation. The Old Vir- ginia or Scarlet Strawberry is largely staminate, and is an early though small bearer, rather inferior in flavor, whilst most of the seedlings more choice in flavor and size are pistillate. It will be well to set about one of the Virginia to five or six of the others in order to insure a good crop. Where it is easy to get a quantity of young plants for resetting beds, we may largely increase the number and size of the berries, by never allowing the plant to make rj.nners ; if these are carefully cut off, the parent plant will spread over a large surface^ the Old Virginia even covering a space as large as a peck measure and bearing in proportion. This kind of culture gives many more Strawberries to the acre than any other. As to varieties, those that seem to stand competition best are Hovey's and Walker's Seedling, the Brighton Pine, and the Jenny Lind. New varieties are offered every year and have their advo- cates. Without specially advocating any variety, I am sure that these have proved themselves good on a large scale. Raspbebbies. — Baspberries should now be well hoed and tied 36 SEPTEMBER. up to their sticks. If you have any leisure you may cut out the old wood which has home this year, as it is now useless. Espaliers. — The espaliered fruit will now mature rapidly. Gather the ripening Peaches and Nectarines, and do not leave them on the trees till they are perfectly ripe, or they will not keep so well. They should be picked when their color shows the practised eye that a few days will make them mellow. Take them into the house and lay them in the coolest and driest place you have, and be particularly careful not to handle or press them, as the one removes the bloom, the other hastens decay. The same holds good of Pears. No Pear should be allowed to fall to the ground, — whether worm-ripe or not, — as it can hardly do so without bruising other fruit in its passage, at the same time ^wiling itself. Pears, even more than Peaches, should be gathered three or four days before they become mellow. Take them into the fruit room and lay them out on the shelves. The varieties pf Pears on the espaliers should give a regular succession of fruit from the middle of August to November, by which time the fruit of the prchard trees will be ready for use. Of the espaliers there are four Nectarine trees, five Apricots, ten Peaches, and twenty-four Pears. The Nectarines are Early Violet, Hunt's Tawney, Boston, New-white. The Apricots are Lai^e Early, Brede, Peach, Roman, Moorpark ; the Peaches, Early York, White Imperial, two George IV., Grosse Mignonne, two Crawford's Early, two Late Red Rare- ripes, Oldmixon ; the Pears, two Bloodgood's, MadeUne, two Dear- home's Seedlings, four Bartlett, three Andrews, two White Doy- enne, four Seckel, two Fondante d' Automne, two Louise Bonne, two Beurre Capiaumont, two Duchess, two Glout Morceau. ThcvFil- berts are Gifford's and Frizzled. Melons. — Melons are now in their perfection, and should be used every day, as an early frost will very probably cut them off. When not done last month, put under each fine melon a shingle, to keep it from the ground, or its flavor will be injured by the earth. The CantaJopes, Musk, Nutmeg, and Green-fleshed, should all be ripe now if ever. The ripeness of all yeUow melons is KITCHEN-GABDEN. 37 shown by color ; but those which have a green rind show ripeness by a gradual detaching of the footstalk, so that when raised by thei hand the vine drops from the melon without resistance. Water- melons must be made much of now as they are in their prime. Various ways of ascertaining their ripeness are given: when rapped with the knuckles they give a hollow sound if ripe, because of a hollow interval left by the separation of the inner lobes, which have hitherto been all joined, but separate as they ripen. Another test is, pressing the melon between the hands ; if ripe there will be a slight crackling (as the lobes crack), the same cavity in the centre offering no opposition to the pressure. Another test is, the decay of the tendril, which will be found on the side of the stem of the vine, opposite the footstalk of the fruit, until the latter is ripe, when it withers away. Pickles. — Hoe carefully the pickle crops of Cucumbers, Man- goes, Peppers, and Martynias ; gather all ripe Tomatoes, and lay the best and earliest ripe in the sun to get seed ; the others, not needed for cooking, should be allowed to accumulate a day or two, being kept dark and cool, to stew for winter use, or for the market Be very attentive to the ripening seeds ; gather and dry all you wish for the next season, never selecting for seed those similar va- rieties which have grown near together, as they will have mixed. Pinch off the ends of the Lima Bean runners early in the month, as this is the only way to force the vine to mature its seeds. Root Chops. — Look over the root crops, Beets, Parsnips, Tur- nips, Ruta Bagas, etc. ; if any stray weeds are to be seen, get them out-. Hoe the Cabbages wherever the earth seems to have fallen away from the stem. Dig your early Potatoes, and lay them in heaps, out of the sun and dew, in a dry place for a day or two, to dry thoroughly before putting them into the cellar. Gather seed ears of the early Com as it ripens ; dry well, strip back and tie together the husks, hang them up where they will be secure frdm rats and mice. Early Peas and Beans are now to be pulled up, the vines dried, and the seed threshed and cleaned ; the vines or hauhn wiU be greedily eaten by cattle if well dried, or they may 4 38 SEPTEMBER. be used for bedding. Gather seed of Summer Squashes and throw the vines and remaining Squash to the pigs. Dig over the portions of the kitchen-garden which have grown these early crops, to be ready for new planting. Pull up and store away any early Turnips not used, as they will liow be apt to run up to blossom stalks, or become hollow-hearted and corky. Cut, dry, and tie in bundles, and hang up pot-herbs, Sage, Rue, Sweet Marjoram, Summer Savory, etc., the last of the month. Gather the Squashes, and pile them in some warm and dry place, or shelter the heaps with boards till they are well dried ; then sell or store them. A light frost will injure them very much, and every bruise is followed by decay. As soon as the tops of the Asparagus are fairly yellow, and the berries red, cut them, lay in piles in the alleys between the beds, and cover with manure ; then dig all in, cover the beds with a dressing of well-rotted manure and salt, but do not dig in for fear of injuring the crowns of the roots, unless very lightly; if the manure is fine it will not impede the Asparagus shoots in the spring. CHAPTER Vn. OKCHAED. The orchard now needs constant attention. The earliest Apples are mostly gone, and the autumn Apples are ripening. Send out every day a man with a barrow or a cart to collect all the decayed and " windfall " fruit for the pigS. Such as is good enough should be pared, sliced, and hung up for drying. Our Apples which will ripen this month, ai-e Porter's, Gravenstein, Jersey Sweeting, Pumpkin Sweet, Maiden's Blush, Nonesuch, Seek-no-further, Scar- let Pearmain. They should all be carefully hand-picked before ripening, and laid out on shelves ; — not barreled unless they are to go to market at once. The sale of autumn Apples require? much judgment, as they do not generally keep weD, and are there- fore hurried into the market until it is often overstocked. When carefully gathered and well barreled, they are in demand for export to the most Northern States and to Canada. For carelessly gathered fall Apples there is no such demand. A careful picker, barreller, and marketer, will sell his Apples for nearly double the price com- manded by ordinary Apples. Pears must also be well attended to. Go over the dwarfs, and pinch back the new growth that was not thus checked in August, to secure thorough ripening of the wood and save labor in the spring. In gathering and storing use the same care directed for the espalier fruit. The Pears that ripen this month are Andrews, Buffum, Beurrd de Capiaumont, Beurr^ Bosc, Beurre Diel, Bergamot, Bon Chretien Fondante d'Automne, White Doyenne, Manning's Eliza- beth, Flemish Beauty, Napoleon, Rostiezer, Seckle. These Pears should all be gathered at least a week before they are fully ripe, and be placed on the shelves of the fruit room, or in baskets and buckets, as will be hereafler described (for drawings of which see the October work), and kept cool and dark till quite ripe. If ripened thus, 39 40 SEPTEMBBE. they will be highly colored, firm and juicy, and when well assorted will sell for very high prices. When they are carried to market, the wisdom of thinning out the Pears on the trees in June and July wUl be evident. All the Peaches ripen this month as they are planted for market. Our only orchard varieties are Coolidge's Favorite, George IV., Crawford's Early (gone early in the month). Royal George, Late Red Rare-ripe, Large White Cling-stone, Oldmixon, and Heath. Treat them as directed for the espalier fruit in kitchen-garden. Our Nectarines are the same as in the kitchen-garden. The out-door Grapes will begin to ripen this month ; first Diana, then Concord, then Isabella ; late in the month Sweet-water and Catawba. Leave the fruit on the vines as long as possible, cutting only for use or sale. We have no vineyard for wine-making, and those who wish to try what is hardly a profitable business in this latitude, east of Albany, must consult special treatises on this subject. As the month closes, if there is any threat of freezing weather, gather the grapes, and winter-pack them in kegs with pretty dry sawdust, or lay them in drawers between layers of cotton batting, taking care to keep them cool and dark. We have only a dozen Plum-trees, as the curculio, black-rot, and mildew make their cultivation a discouraging task. They will all ripen this month ; Greengage, Coe's Golden-drop, Jefferson, Bol- mar's Washington, Magnum Bonum, Damson. Gather this crop as it ripens, and place on shelves in the fruit room. It does not keep well ; so eat, preserve, and sell as fast as possible. Be sure to bud any stocks or branches of Plums, Cherries, Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots, and Pears, not budded in August CHAPTER VIII. NURSERY. Here there is little to do if budding was finished last month ; if it was not, do it now. Pull out all stocks that seem diseased ; run the horse-hoe through the rows that are weedy ; look over the tal- lies at the ends of the rows and refresh any that are dim. The best tally is zinc, on which write with some preparation that will not fade, or with a stylus, or wooden tallies, first rubbed ■ over with white lead, and written on with black lead pencil before the paint is dry. In the nursery of ornamental plants, be sure to bud all the Roses as soon as possible ; for varieties consult the flower-garden lists. Toward the last of the month, divide the tufts of perennial roots, so that whatever you wish to transplant may be ready, and the rest be making new roots. Ornamental trees which you propose to plant this fall may be pruned now, if there is time, as it will save delay when trans- planting. Go through the rows of trees and shrubs which are not to be transplanted this fall, and prune off all side branches, suckers, etc., which would interfere with a satisfactory development of the plant. Every unoccupied part of the nursery should be trenched and thoroughly manured, to be ready for planting next month. Evergreens. — If there are any evergreens that must be trans- planted before spring, or become worthless, move them now. Ar- bor Vitaes and Norway Spruces seem often not to suffer by fall transplanting ; but as a rule, no evergreen should be disturbed in the fall, except as a forlorn hope, for it is of the greatest importa,nce that a tree freshly transplanted should have time to repair the damage which its roots have suffered in the removal before it is 4* 41 42 SEPTEMBER. taxed for any other purpose. Transplanting tears away more than we can estimate of minute fibres and spongioles, the vital parts of the plant, and its first physiological act in its new position is to heal these wounds and make good the place of the lost organs. The healing process is to form a callus similar to the callus on a " cutting " and analagous to the granulations thrown out in wounded flesh, where no tissue like skin or flesh is found at first, but a new substance that serves to protect the wound against the external air and shocks, to shield the new tissues that form beneath ; so the broken root makes a shield of cellular tissue, which is in time ab- sorbed or cast off, to give place to woody fibre and cellular tissue, from which roots are emitted in due season. To insure the growth of cuttings, gardeners know that they must remove most of their leaves and set them in a shady place where there will be but little evaporation. So deciduous trees being without leaves in the autumn and winter evaporate but little moisture even in the sun ; not enough to overtask their roots and prevent the formation of calluses after transplanting. They may therefore be removed even in the late fall with great advantage ; and if this be well done, and the trees properly secured against the wind, the formation of calluses and new roots is certain in nearly all hardy varieties ; and when spring comes there is an immediate resumption of growth ; whilst a tree transplanted in the spring has all this reparative process to perform before it can grow. But in evergreens, the process of growth begins later in the spring, and the demand on the roots for sap continues till spring again ; and when they are moved in the fall their vital processes are in full activity. The new growth of leaves, young and tender, is just formed, and demands the largest possible amount of moisture ; whilst, if newly transplanted, the supply from the roots is dimin- ished, and a demand made (for the formation of calluses) by the roots for a part of this diminished supply. Even if the evergreen could be moved into the most favorable position, where evaporation should be at a minimum and moisture at a maximum, the process of healing its wounds and putting forth new rootlets must go on very slowly, so great must be the demand of its foliage, under any circumstances, in the fall. NUESEKT. 43 Suppose, however, the healing process goes on in the roots suf- ficiently to keep the tree alive. If it is to withstand the winter winds, the roots must have every opportunity to spread and seize firm hold of the earth. Even deciduous trees, with their skeleton top, are often winter-killed after heing. transplanted in the fall, by being so shaken in the wind that the sUght hold of the new roots on the earth is broken. How much greater is the danger to the evergreen with its thick and leafy top, that opposes a large surface to the wind ! But in the spring it needs less moisture, for its leaves are then old, and having supplied the tree for half a year or more, they have performed half their function, are thick- ened and hardened by the deposit of mineral matter in their tissue, and therefore work more slowly, elaborate less sap, and of course are less exposed to evaporation. Pruning. — If, however, you are compelled to move evergreens in the fall, prune them beforq setting them in their new place. It is little that can be done to restore the balance between roots and leaves ; but you must aim at this ; so cut away as far as possible ;the same proportion of top that you have torn away of roots. Ev- ergreens may not be cut back like deciduous trees ; their branches are to be thinned out. CHAPTER IX. THE FARM. In September the farmer looks for some little leisure from the driving work of the year ; not idleness, but an opportunity to begin upon those repairs and improvements which are not indispensable, but which will pay well in future. Field No. 4 is in grass for the first time. It will depend upon the set the grass got last year, and on the kind of spring and summer, whether there will be a crop of Aftermath or Rowen succeeding the hay. The field was laid down to Grass and Clover with Rye last year, and should have cut a heavy crop of Clover. Early in the month, if there seems to be grass enough to warrant it, cut the Rowen. If, as is possible, the Clover has come up clean and free from any stray Rye, summer weeds, or grass, you may cut it for its seed, in which case it should be left to stand longer than if to be cut for hay. Clover. — If cut for Rowen, treat as in summer ; put in the mowing machine as soon as the dew is off in the morning. The whole of it may be cut before the mid-forenoon, there being about two acres in the field. After dinner turn it thoroughly ; at four rake it ; put the hay into cocks that will contain about fifty pounds dry hay. Cover with hay covers every night and during damp weather. Leave unopened until an examination shall show whether it is cured and fit for the mow ; if it is, the covers should be removed during the heat of the morning, and the cock be turned over, to allow the bottom to get thoroughly dry. Then haul to the bam ; salt sUghtly. This Rowen will prove the most agreeable food to your milch cows during late winter and early spring, and will cause a larger fiow of milk than any other kind of hay. Clovek-Seed. — But if you wish to have clover-seed, the crop 44 THE FARM. 45 must be treated differently. Let the grass stand till nearly ripe seeds show at the bottom of the head ; it will not do to wait longer than this, as the head continues to grow long after, and the lower seeds, which are the best, would ripen and fall before any others would mature. You may now mow this like Barley, or cradle it and tie in bundles. In either case, cure it like a grain crop ; carry to the bam, and either thresh immediately or put it on the mow to be threshed hereafter. Another method of saving seed is to use a machine which can be carried through the field and will take off the heads, which must then be collected, dried, and threshed. The stubble may be pastured, or be cut for inferior hay or for bed^ ding. The ornamental grounds now need their last cutting for the season. That part of the lawn which was cut but once for hay will now yield its crop of Eowen, which must be treated in all respects like the Clover, excepting that it need not be left in cocks to make. The Clover leaves being very fragile when dry,' break readily and are lost if the hay is turned frequently in making ; and it is to avoid this that we cure it in cocks. Some farmers are of the opinion that all hay is better made in this way. RowEN. — The Eowen from the lawn is to- be made like any other hay, and stored in the barn for the cows in spring. The grass on the rest of the lawn, and about the borders, flower-gardens, and house, is, as it has been at each previous cutting, similar to Rowen, although somewhat less nutritious, owing to the repeated cuttings, and is cured in the same way. Field No. 2 is in Roots. Its area of 3 acres is divided into 1^ acres Carrots, 1 Ruta Bagas, J Parsnips, ^ Flat Turnips. Noth- ing need be done here but to go over the field occasionally and pull out any weeds that have come up since the last hoeing. If the weather is very dry and the roots seem to suffer, let the brook into the catch-water drains, and allow it to stand long enough to satu- rate the ground thoroughly. Before the water is ti^rned in, run the horse or wheel hoe through the rows to loosen the soil. If there is no water for irrigation, hoeing will be of service. The lawn south of the hall door was planted with early Potatoes, 46 SEPTEMBEE. which must be dug early in the month. The evidence of ripeness is the gradual drying up of the vines. It is easy to distinguish between the ripening of the vines and the disease known as " the rot." In the rot the vines decay and blacken all at once. Pota-, toes may be dug with the common hand hoe or with a potato hand diggeV, which is much like a manure rake, with four or five long teeth, which searches into the hill bet- ter than the hoe and with less danger of cutting the tubers. After digging, leave them lying on the ground to dry in the sun till there will be only time enough before dew-fall to gather them into heaps. Cover these heaps with the dry haulm of the tops, or with a hay cover. Remove the cover next morning, and leave them another day, or even two days, to dry thoroughly, covering eveiy night. When well dried, carry them into the root cellar. It will save time in the end to assort them as we take them from the cart into the cellar, putting the smaller tubers together, either for pig-feed or for seed, and the large ones by themselves for sale or the table. Keep the varieties well separated, so that you may be able to plant neit year with judgment,' and grow those varieties which have rotted least, yielded best, and which have the best flavor. In this neighborhood, Worcester Eeds, Davis' Seedlings, Carters, and Jackson Whites have proved the greatest favorites for field Potatoes, and it is with these that we should plant our field. Where there is tnore than one quarter of an acre of Potatoes to dig, it will be true economy to buy a, potato-digger, which may be worked either with horse or oxen ; the animals walk in the fur- rows either side of the rows, while the digger, like a ditch plough, splits the furrow and turns the tubers out to daylight, where they may be easily gathered. In Field No. 1 the pasture needs no attention this month. At every opportunity cart muck, weeds, and loam to the barn cellar ; leave them in such positions as not to interfere with clean- ing the cellar of the summer's accumulation before winter. The cows want fodder night and morning, as in the last month. THE FARM. 47 and in ratlier larger quantities. Keep good watch to insure that the cattle are well and regularly fed and cleaned, and that the barn is kept clean and sweet. The horses will need no extra care as yet, although as the nights grow colder their legs should be rubbed dry after the day's work and the beds be made a little thicker. ' Select the pigs you propose to kill before January and put them by tliemselves in order to begin extra feeding. Do not increase the feed much till the weather becomes decidedly cooler. They will be found to gain much more rapidly during the first cool weather than afterwards, or than during the hot weather. The fowls are taking care of themselves ; the young geese, tur- keys, and ducks being well grown. Such fowls as are to be got ready for early use or sale in the fall should be regularly fed, be- ginning with small quantities and gradually increasing. Rye. — During the month thresh the Rye or Wheat cut from No. 3, winnow and put it into bags for sale. If you propose to sell the Eye straw do it as soon as the' price is fair, for as soon as cold weather approaches it will be the haunt of rats and mice, which in search of stray grains will cut it to pieces and make it almost unsalable. Sell all the Rye that you do not wish to use, whenever the market it good, as it is a crop in which there is not much fluctuation, and as it sells by weight the loss in drying dur- ing the winter will often counter-balance the gain in price in the spring which is seldom much for home-grown grains. DRAINING. During the dry weather clear all the open drains that are at all clogged, and begin new tile or stone drains in all the wet parts of the fields. The system of irrigation which we are following will lose much of its value, if the surplus soakage water is not rapidly removed. There is scarcely a field but is benefited by draining. This is the best month to repair the roads for fall and winter carting, as gravel laid on now will be well trodden and bound be- fore hard freezing begins. Examine the catch-water drains, and wherever the action of the 48 SEPTEMBER. water has injured them, repair thoroughly. Make the drains now in Field No. 1 for next year's crop. It is very strange that our farmers should be so remiss in the matter of irrigation, when no natural aid is as powerful if applied with judgment. In a climate where frequent rains remove all fear of drought, a supply of water by irrigation would seem superflu- ous ; and yet it is in England, where such a climate exists, that irrigation has been carrie'd to the greatest perfection. How much more then should we gain in this often scorched region ! The necessity of drainage has forced itself upon our agricultural- ists, and although it is exceedingly rare to find a farm thoroughly drained, it is no less rare to see a farm where something of the sort has not been done. The theory is very simple and obvious. It is important to has- ten the approach and prolong the stay of warm weather as much as possible. We know that a wet board becomes wholly heated much more slowly than a dry one, as the water must first evapo- rate. So earth saturated with moisture will not become warm enough to germinate seeds readily, till the surplus water is re- moved ; suflBciently at least to leave the surface freely exposed to the heat of the sun's rays. Evaporation is a rapid process, if we consider the vast amount of water daily converted into rain-clouds ; a slow process when we wait for the drying of a submerged or saturated field to an extent that will allow the plough and seed to be applied in spring. This delay is most seriously felt in late sea- sons, when under the most favorable circumstances farmers find barely time enough to prepare for the crop. The surplus water may in this way shorten the season a fortnight or even a month. Again, in the fall, the early rains — colder than the soil — wiU collect in the very places whence the sun could hardly remove the water in the spring, and will inevitably chill or decay the roots of the yet immature crops ; thus cutting the season short at this end ainother fortnight or month. This time lost from the season will be enough to destroy those crops which can mature in this latitude only by having the full amount of heat which our late springs and early winters afford. Besides this shortening of the growing season, there is the utter impossibility of ploughing such lands in THE FARM. 49 the autumn to expose them to the beneficial action of the winter frosts. All this difficulty may be removed by judicious drainage ; and no month is more favorable to the making drains than September, when we usually have some weeks of steady, dry weather, which evaporates the surface water, and enables us to judge where drains are most needed. " To determine the actual degree of cold produced by the evapo- ration of one pound of water from the soil, is rather a complicated, . and not a very certain, operation ; but scientific reasons are given for an approximation to this result — that the evaporation of 1 pound of water lowers the temperature of 100 pounds of soil 10°. That is to say, that if to 100 pounds of soil holding all the water which it can by attraction, but containing no water of drainage, is added 1 pound of water which it has no means of discharging except by evap- oration, it will, by the time that it has so discharged it, be 10° colder than it would have been if it had the power of discharging this 1 pound by filtration ; or more practically, if rain, entering in the pro- portion of 1 pound to 100 pounds, into aretentive soil which is satu- rated with water of attraction, is discharged by evaporation, it low- ers the temperature of that soil 10°- If the soil ha^ the means of discharging that 1 pound of water by filtration, no effect is pro- duced beyond what is due to the relative temperatures of the rain and of the soil. Mr. Dickenson, the eminent paper-maker, who has several mills and a landed estate in Hertfordshire, has deduced from a series of observations which are, we believe, entitled to great confidence, that of an annual fall of 26 inches of rain, about 11 are filtered through a porous soil. The whole of this 11 inches (and probably more), must be got rid of by a retentive soil, either by evaporation or by superficial discharge. The proportions in which each of these will^ operate will vary in every case, but this will be a universal feature — that these 11 inches will retain in undrained, retentve soils, except during some accidental periods of excessive drought, a permanent supply of water of drainage, which will be in constant course of evaporation, and will con- stantly produce the cold consequent thereon. Eetentive soils never can be so warm, as porous, for a simple reason. Every 5 50 SEPTEMBER. one knows, or may know, that if into two flower pots, with holes in the bottom, are put respectively equal portions of gravel and clay, equally heated to any point short of torrefaction, and if equal quantities of water are administered to the surface of each, water (water of drainage) will run from the gravel long before it begins to run from the clay. Gravel can hold by attraction much less water than clay can. At the time when each is saturated by water of attraction, and neither holds any water of drainage, evaporation will begin to act upon the water in each, and will act most strongly in the vegetative period of the year. The cold produced will be in proportion to the quantities of water evaporated respectively, and will, of course, be greatest in the retentive soil. We will re- serve a farther cause of coolness in retentive soils, which is also connected with evaporation, till we have spoken of the depths of drains." " The temperature of retentive soils is very much raised during that period of the year in which vegetation is active, by the removal of water by drainage." " Many experiments have shown that in retentive soils the tem- perature at 2 or 3 feet below the surface of the water-table is at no period of the year higher than from 46° to 48°, that is, in agri- cultural Britain. This temperature is little affected by summer heats, for the following short reasons. Water, in a quiescent state, is one of the worst conductors of heat with which we are acquainted. Water warmed at the surface transmits little or no heat downwards. The small portion warmed expands, becomes lighter than that below, consequently retains its position on the sur- face, and carries no heat downwards. To ascertain the mean heat of the air at the surface of the earth, over any extended space, and for a period of eight or nine months, is. no simple operation. More elements enter into such a calculation than we have space or ability to enumerate ; but we know certainly that for seven months in the year, air, at the surface of the ground, is seldom lower than 48°, never much lower, and only for short periods ; whereas at 4 feet from the surface, in the shade, from 70° to 80° is not an unu- sual temperature, and in a southern exposure, in hot sunshine, dbuble that temperature is not unfrequently obtained on the surface." THE FARM. SI " Now let us consider the effect of drains placed from 2 to 3 feet below the water-table, and acting during the seven months of which we have spoken. They draw out water of the temperature of 48°. Eveiy particle of water which they withdraw at this temperature is replaced by an equal bulk of air, at a higher, and frequently at a much higher temperature. The warmth, of the air is carried down into the earth. The temperature of the soil, to the depth to which the water is removed, is in a course of constant assimilation to the temperature of the air at the surface." " From this it follows, necessarily, that during that period of the year when the temperature of air at the surface of the earth is generally below 48°, retentive soils, which have been drained; are colder than those which have not." " There are no satisfactory British experiments with reference to the surface-heat of the earth. Professor Leslie's only commence at 1 foot below the surface. • Schubler's experiments, made near Genoa, in the year 1796, are strictly superficial. His thermome- ters were sunk in the soil only to the depth of l-12th of an inch. In that sunny clime he found the mean heat of soil, at' that depth, to be at noon for six successive months, 131°- If that were his mean heat for six months, we cannot doubt that it is frequeritly obtained as an extreme heat in the hottest portion of our year, in England." " Mr. Parkes gives temperatures on a Lancashire Peat Moss, but they only commence at 7 inches below the surface, and do not extend to midsummer. At that period of the year the temperature at 7 inches never exceeded 66°, and was generally from 10° to 15° below the temperature of air in the shade, at 4 feet above' the earth. At the depth of 13 inches, the soil was generally from .5° to 8° cooler than at 7 inches." "Mr. Parkes' experiments were made simultaneously on a drained and on an undrained portion of the Moss ; and the result was, that on a mean of 35 observations the drained soil at 7 inches in depth was 10° warmer than the undrained at the same depth. The undrained soil never exceeded 47°, whereas after a thunder- storm the drained reached 66°, at 7 inches, and 48° at 31 inches. 52 SEPTEMBER. Such were the effects at an early period of the year on a black bog. They suggest some idea of what they are, when in July or August thunder-rain at 60° or 70° falls on a surface heated to 130°, and carries down with it into the greedy fissures of the earth its augmented temperature. These advantages porous soils possess by nature, and retentive soils only acquire them by drainage." How then shall we best get these advantages by the aid of drains? how deep shall the drain be in the soil? and how wide apart on the surface ? That some absolute depth is right for average soils is self-evident, whilst different quahties of soil will vary this depth and distance. We should not forget, in considering that the reasoning in the foregoing and following quotations is applied to England and Scot- land, that the facts and deductions from them are equally ap- plicable to America. The depth of the drains below the suiface in all ordinary cases depends upon these two considerations : from what depth does water prefer to arise to the surface by evapora- tion, or to descend into subsoil drainage, and how much does the escape of water by natural evaporation affect the temperature of the soil. Careful experiments have shown that the heat necessary to convert 1 pound of water into vapor by sun evaporation is just as great as to convert it into steam over a fire, and that the fire heat contained in 2 or 3 ounces of coal is that amount. By consequence, then, were all the water which falls upon an acre of land in a year, 40 inches or 4,040 tons, to be so removed, there would be for each day 11 tons, which would consume the heat of 32 cwt. of coal per hour. We know that all this water is not so removed, but all that is removed by evaporation consumes heat pro rata ; and the amount we know, under aU circumstances, is large, whilst in saturated land it is enormous. Bring before your imagination an acre of close clay land, nearly impermeable by water ; in its natural condition, this land, in early spring, is unapproachable for its saturation ; by degrees it dries, and is meagrely tilled, the crops feebly budding into life are not only grievously choked and poisoned by the standing water but THE FAKM. 53 also the heat, so vitally necessary to their rapid grovyth, is taken away at the rate of 24 cwt. of burning coal per hour, whilst t^^ plants are half frozen." " It has been proved that the heat of a pound of water in a state of steam would raise the temperature of 1,000 pounds of watey one degree, and consequently the heat abstracted to convert one pound of water' in the soil into steam, reduces 1,000 pounds of earth one degree, or 500 lbs. two degrees, and so on.'' Besides this abstraction of heat by evaporating water, another solid objection should be considered : that water is the best of non- conduetors of heat. If a kettle of water is heated below, it soon boils by the rising of the lighter hot water to the top, and the falling of the heavy drops at the top. But if a fire were made on top of the kettle, it would never warm, as the hot and light particles are at the top, and cannot ascend and allow new cold particles to have access to the fire. " Apply this to poor land lying exposed to the heat of the sun, the warmth of whose rays may penetrate into the ground only so fast as the water evaporates and reduces its level. But although, so poor a conductor, it is a very rapid radiator, as we have seen. Were the soil warmed, we will say to 60°, and the water at Jiny depth, not over two feet, to 40°, the water would rapidly abstract .the heat and rise into the air, carrying away with it as is above seen the warmth of thousands of pounds of soil." But let the. land be readily permeable by water and it becomes a carrier of heat, not a remover. Supposing the water to be that of a warm thunder-storm, say warmed to 70°, it will run down into tlje soil to the drains, carrying that warmth and imparting it on its way ; or, supposing the upper stratum to be warmed to 70° or 120°, the water which falls upon it instead of standing there, awaiting to absorb heat enough to evaporate, and. so cooling the soil to its dead loss, now runs through it, . abstracting much of its heat, and carrying it down to the subsoil, and, of course, as it gradually cools, imparting its heat to the soil. We are thus brought to the edge of the question of how deep drains are to be. Set a pot containing a plant into a saucer full of water ; at first the water will rise as high in the pot, or owing to 5* 54 SEFTEMBEE. capillary attraction a little higher than, the water in the saucer. The top of this water is the water table ; from this point it rises by evaporation through the soil till it appears at the top, and is thence discharged into the air. Observe how largely heat must be abstracted to make the water thus escape ; and it is for this reason, though perhaps not knowing how to explain it, that gardeners object to plants standing in water. So, too, whenever water stands in soils it assumes a level which we call the water table and from its top it will rise to the surface by evaporation. How low ought this water table to be, to reduce its injurious action to a minimum ? Experiments have shown that the water in the soil, from its surface to a depth of not less than 30 inches, is colder by several degrees than below that depth ; or in other words, the evaporation acts upon the water to that depth, and consequently cools the water and the earth holding it ; below that depth it does not affect it materially ; only water enough rises to supply the roots of plants, which will descend if the strata is open to the water level, if it be even 4 feet below the surface. Not less than 30 inches should be the depth to the top of the water table, and as much lower as circumstances wiU admit, until we arrive at 4 feet, where the temperature seems to be about the same with water at much greater depths. At first, we might suppose that deep drains, would not remove the water with rapidity after a rain, but, on the contrary, in lands drained at different depths, the drains 4 feet deep begin to run the soonest and stop the earliest, showing that the flood about the roots, immediately after a shower, is the water of evaporation, condensed and checked, together with the water of saturation, not the rain. For instance, Mr. Parkes relates, p. 153, Royal Ag. Soc. for 1844, "that on the 7th and 8th Novem- ber, rain fell by guage to the depth of ^^ of an inch. On the 9 th, he inspected some drains on Mr. Hammond's farm, and found that after a rain of 12 hours' duration on the 7th, in a nine-acre piece, the drains 3 feet deep were just dribbling, whilst in a four-acre hop ground adjoining, the four-feet drains were already exhausted." Mr. Hammond states that after the late rains Feb. 17, 1844, a drain 4 feet deep ran 8 pints of water, whilst another, 3 feet deep, ran 5 pints, although placed at equal distances. THE FARM. 55 There are cases, undoubtedly, where shallow drains should b^ jomed with, if not substituted for, deep drains. On very plastic clays, dig a hole into the soil, and permeate its bottom with small holes, and arrange so that water shall gradually weep through its sides. At first it will rapidly disappear through the bottom, but slowly small particles of clay will wash down, and form a fihn or puddle over the bottom, after which no water will escape. In all clays which wiU so puddle, you will observe that much of the water must be removed by surface drains and shallow drains, as the deeper the drain the more chance there would seem to be for pud- dling. This is not, however, true, in its full application, because another feature in clays may be improved in connection with deep drains, namely, cracking. We know that a clay field will contract under the sun's heat, so as, in many cases, to make during summer really fearful fissures. As the rains return in the autumn, the clay absorbs the water, swells, and reflUs the cracks. But if the field was thoroughly and deeply drained, this rain water will be conveyed into the drains all the more rapidly for the fissures, and that which was its curse, becomes its blessing ; the clay will close more slowly and perhaps not at all, giving the desired opportunity for ploughing, subsoiling, and sanding, by which the clay may be made exceedingly fertile. When shallow drains shall be used for deep is a very nice question, and can only be settled by a professional and experience4 man. The depth of drains seems to be settled, at any rate approxi- mately. Let us now consider their distance apart. Water can only get into drains by gravity ; and just as certainly as it seeks its own level it also seeks the lowest point to which it has access and for which it may run. Let A be a section of a field to be drained. Imagine the drains, h h, to be made at no matter what distance apart, but 4^ feet deep. The water wiU at once es- cape into the drain, being pressed . into it by the weight of the mass overhead. This will be followed by the drops overhead up to the top of its water table, which directly over it or adjacent may be 56 SEPTEMBEK. reduced to 4 feet ; but at the same time the water will tend to these two drains from both sides, as is shown by dotted lines. Experi- ment has shown that in ordinary soils the water needs a slope of about one inch to the linear yard to overcome friction ; in very porous soils less will do ; in very retentive, more will be necessary. To lower the water table in the centre of our land at a to the de- sired depth of 4 feet, we must have our drains distant from the centre 18 feet, or the drains 36 feet apart. I have said very light soils will allow the drains to be farther apart. The distance will be affected also by the slope of the land, which may so slope that the water will move rather in the line of steepest descent through the earth, gradually approaching the surface, than laterally into the drain. B is a hillside ; the arrow shows the line of steepest de- scent, and the inclination is 1 foot in 20 feet, or 1 inch in 20 inches. Now to overcome friction, we must allow 1 inch to the yard, or 3 inches in 20 feet, for the drains. But the natural slope here is 12 inches in 20 feet, or four times as much, and the inclina- tion is therefore four times stronger to run to the surface at a lower part of the hill than to the drain. If the drains are made diagonally to the hill this is somewhat counteracted. I only men- tion these cases to show the need there is for judgment and cau- tion. But some one may object that land thus drained at every 40 feet with drains 4 to 5 feet deep will be too dry, and plants will perish. The following cut shows some Wheat plants whose roots were carefully traced when growing freely in open mould ; they penetrated 5 feet. Indian Corn has been traced 7 feet ; Parsnips 5 'and 6 feet. Thus will be seen the enormous advantage THE FARM. 57 of that treatment of soil which gives the plant 5 feet to feed in, rather than 6 inches, and also that where the plant has room it will push down through the warm soil to the water table, and there get water much warmer than were it standing one foot above. No one ever saw crops dry up in ■ deep -drained and well -tilled land, whilst all of us have seen it in land where hard pan is within six inches or a foot of the surface, — as is shown by the wood cuts, pp. 575, 576. These roots must find all their food and moisture within this shallow soil, which is soon warmed by the sun and dried out. Experiments have shown that all land not decidedly sandy is benefited by underground drains; some have found that even sandy and dry land was improved by them, as they seemed to serve as conduits to admit moist air to the roots of the plants, and allow the moisture of the subsoil to rise more freely to the surface. It is therefore claimed that the principle is of universal application. I will not press it to that extent now, but simply assert that all springy, rocky, deep, wet, and low lands should be drained. The rule laid down by English farmers is, a drain every 40 or 60 feet ; but this distance is to be varied according to the judgment of the cultivator. The surfaces to be drained will be either side-hills, undu- lating, high and level surfaces, or low and level surfaces. In the first and last cases, the adjoining land being higher, experi- ence teaches that the surplus water, to some extent, runs into the place we wish to drain from this higher land near by. We must therefore find an outlet for our drains. The best outlet is a natural brook whose high-water level is lower than the bottom of the drains we are to make. If the high-water level is higher than this, we must still be content, for brooks fall rapidly from theil- high-water mark; and if at the highest flood our drains do not 58 SEPTEMBER. work well, we may rest assured that as the flood lowers they will draw the water from the land more rapidly than it could flow off if we had no drains and were compelled to rely on the natural drainage. If no such brook can be found, look for the nearest pond which is ordinarily lower than the bottom of our drains ; and if no pond can be found, ascertain the lowest point which is under our control on the farm, and there make a pond, first digging out aU the loam, etc., and then, if the bottom is hard pan, cutting through it to some open gravel or sand stratum below. The water discharged into this will soak away ; or if we do not open upon a sand stratum we may make an artificial pond. Having found a point of discharge, dig a main drain as wide as is requisite for the rapid removal of the water, and as deep as the surface will allow at the end most remote from the outlet ; if the distance is considerable, the drain will be very much deeper at the outlet, as there should be about 3 inches fall in 100 feet of drain to insure the water's overcoming any slight obstacles to its flow. If the distance to be traversed by the main drain is very long, so that by starting at 3 feet depth and dropping 3 inches to the 100 feet it would sink lower than the outlet, the upper end must be made more shallow, or there must be less drop in 100 feet. To render this description more intelligible, consult the accom- panying diagrams. No. 1 represents a piece of land bound- ing on a brook and surrounded by high land. The farm does not include the whole of the high land, as shown by the boun- dary fences xx ; a is the brook. Now dig themain drain 6, 500 feet long ; start it at No. 1. the upper end y, 39 THE FARM. 59 inches deep; sink 3 inches to the 100 feet, which gives at the lower end 54 inches in depth. Dig the other main, b' from the brook back, 150 feet ; at the commencement, 49 inches deep ; at the outlet, 54 inches. Now dig at the foot of the hill, and fol- lowing its curve as shown by the diagram, a drain c c c c, no- where as deep as the main drain by at least 2 inches for every 100 feet that the main drain is distant from it. This drain should be as a general rule not more than 30 feet from the base of the hiU. At various intervals cut cross-drains d, from c e c to the main, B, which, starting from the bottom level of c c c, shall sink gradually so as to enter the main above its bottom level. The dis- tance between these cross-drains wiU vary according to the char- acter of the surface, its unevenness, wetness, and level. As has been said, 20 to 60 feet is common practice, and they may be farther or nearer as necessity directs. When you can conveniently, enter the side into the main drains at an acute angle, for the flow of the water should be facilitated as much as possible, and every rectangular turn obstructs it more than an acute angle. Also, enter them above the bottom if possible, that the water may reach the bottom of the main afler a slight fall. But if our surface were a side-hill it should be treated as in dia- gram No. 2. Here it is necessary to retard the flow of water, rather No. 2. 60 SEPTEMBER. than increase it, as the rapid running may destroy the sides of the drains. Under these circumstances the best plan is to carry the drains diagonally to the slope of the hill, taking care, however, that they follow the slope sufficiently to prevent the waters settling into the earth on the lower side of the drain, making the land below each drain more " soggy " than if not under-drained. As before, A is the brook ; B, the main ; c, the side-hill drain ; d, the cross-drains ; x x fences ; y the heads of the mains. Where one main empties into another, as at S, much care must be used to protect the receiving main, that it may not be destroyed by the friction of the running water, which may undermine its side and cause it to fall in. The third case of drainage is a nearly level field with no hill- sides near. Treat this like No. 1, only carry the drain c across the upper end, — and perhaps down the sides of the field, — to re- ceive any water that may be in the adjacent land. In most cases; however, this can be dispensed with, as the main and cross-drains draw the water thoroughly enough. Having fixed upon the lines of drain, de- cide upon the materials with which to make your drains. These are as various as the means and inclination of proprietors. The best way is always the most economical ; we will describe it, and then mention other methods. Dig the drain the requisite depth, narrow- THE FAKM. 61 ing from top to bottom, like a truncated wedge. The earth is to be thrown aU to one side. Now take the pipe and collar, or horseshoe sole tile, or plain horseshoe tile, which comes in pieces 1 foot to 14 inches long, and may be bought at Albany, N. Y., Worcester, Manchester, and Boston, Mass., or Exeter, N. H. These tile vary in diameter from 1 to 6 inches, and proportionately in price. If you use the sole tile, which has, as shown in the cut, a solid bottom, having made the bottom of the drain smooth, lay down the pieces of tile end to end, bringing the ends together. It is obvious that the bottom of the drain must be made level, smooth, and hard, and below frost, so that neither heaving of frost nor unequal hardness of bottom, may ever disturb the tile after it is laid ; for if it is disarranged, the ends of the pieces will not come opposite each other, and will interrupt the flow of water, so that the drain wiU ultimately be choked and rendered useless. If the tile without the sole is used, it must be laid on a board or plank to prevent the running water from wearing the bottom of the drain, which would cause the tile to sink and the mud to rise into the cavity of the drain and choke it. The tile being laid as directed, a section of the drain will be thus. Pile over the top of the tUe stones about the size of a man's fist, — if they can be procured, — to the depth of 4 inches ; they must be laid by hand ; shoveling them in would break the tiles. To expedite the work the stones should be piled' at the side of the drain opposite the earth removed in digging ; and if they are placed close to the edge, the man who lays the tUe can fill in the 4 inches of stone as he goes along, a boy standing at the side of the drain to hand the joints of tile and any stones that may have rolled beyond reach of the man. When 4 inches of stone have been thus carefully laid in and wedged about the tile, 8 inches more of larger stones may be thrown in with a shovel. Then return the earth dug out until the 62 SEPTEMBER. drain is full and heaped a few inches higher than ^^^^^ the adjacent surface, to allow for settling. The cut shows a section of the drain when completed. Brush, straw, tan or sods may be laid over the tile, or even coarse gravel, or loam ; or you may use broken stones to insure the most perfect drainage. Similar drains may be made without any tile, using different sizes of stone, beginning small and gradually in- creasing till within 18 inch- es of the surface. These are called blind drains and answer very well for many years, but are apt to choke. The " V drain " is an im- provement on absolutely blind drains ; the wood cut shows its structure ; having cut as if for tile, select rather flat stones and lay them to- gether at the bottom, edge to edge, their lower ends resting on a board or plank ; on them fill in with stones. Drains may be made with brush, laying in bushes and branches of trees, their buts up stream; these sooner or later decay or choke. Lastly we come to the instruments to be used in making the drain. The accompanying instruments are the English instruments for cutting drains ; the workman's feet never ap- proach within 8 or 10 THE FARM. 63 inches of the bottom of the di'ain, which does not need to be more than 10 inches wide for the largest size drain pipe, and not more than 2 inches for the usual inch pipe, which is compe- tent to drain off all the water in the soil, and conduct it into the mains. A 2 inch pipe with a fall of 3 inches in 100 feet, and a velocity of .895 foot per second will discharge 11,400 gallons a day." The following is quoted from J. H. Shedd, Civil Engineer, of Boston ■ — '• The accompanying diagram shows the lines that may be followed in forming the cross section of a trench from 2-^ to 6 feet deep, and to admit a pipe from 1 to 8 inches inside bore. The fiiU lines represent the sides of the trench; the \Z"i°'pZ!"/«6.. horizontal dotted lines are at certain distances from the bottom, as represented by the figures opposite Yfttisn each, at the side. The figures above each repre- sent the width of opening at the surface for a trench of that depth ; the widths are given in feet and hundredths ; to reduce the decimal to inches, divide by 8 ; the result will be inches, nearly. The \p§\ ■ vertical dotted lines show what earth must be re- ]^'J'\ moved in order to increase the width at bottom to receive the larger sizes. Suppose a trench is to be dug 4^ feet deep ; the number opposite 4^ is 1.42, or 1 foot 5 inches, which is the width of opening at sur- face. " If the trench is to be 3 feet deep it need be opened only 1 foot wide at the top, and with proper tools it can be carried down to a width of about 2 inches at the bottom, though, of course, the 64 SEPTEHBEB. foot of a man cannot come within 6 or 8 inches of the bottom ; in which case the pipes £tre laid by a man, walliing on the surface, at the edge of the trencli, who lifts the pipe, piece by piece, with a land of hook made for the purpose, and lays them carefully in the trench, as shown by this engraving." An Irish spade. No. "2, shown in the following cut, is thought, by some, the best instrument : — " As it is not necessary to the convenience of the workmen that the sides of the trench be carried down any nearer vertical than is represented in the engraving, they may be opened and carried down in the same manner, for each size of the pipe, until the sides have approached so near, that a pipe of the size required can be just passed be- tween them ; the cut may then be carried down vertically to the depth required. This allows much earth to remain which would be thrown out if the sides were cut straight down from the width opened at the top to the width at the bottom. A skilful workman will dig the trenches with ease in this way, after some practice, though it may be a little troublesome at first. I am now having trenches dug, in which the opening at the surface is even less in width, for the required depth, than is here given." "The labor of one man, in a day of 10 hours, varies very much under different circumstances.'' "1. In hard, gravelly, and clay soils, where picking is constantly necessary, a man will throw out only from 3 to 5 cubic yards in a day." " 2. In ordinary clay and gravel, with an occasional use of the pick, he wiU throw out about 10 Cubic yards in a day.'' " 3. In loose earth, without picking, or in shoveling after the picking of another, as in railroad excavations, a man throws out 15 to 18 cubic yards a day." THE FARM. 65 " In the first case, a yard, or 27 cubic feet, will be removed for 25 cents, by a man who works a day, of 10 hours, for $1." " In the second case the removal of a yard will cost 10 cents. This will be the basis of our estimate of the cost of cutting trenches, from the fact that most soils which need draining may be classed under this head." " In the third case, 1 yard will be removed for about 6^ cents. The solid contents of earth removed from a trench 100 feet long, of sufficient width at bottom to admit the smallest sized pipe, and of the depth as shown, is as follows : — Depth. 2 1-2 feet 127.5.. 3 " 3 1-2 " 4 4 1-2 " 5 5 1-2 " 6 " ibio Feet. Cubic Yards. Cost. 127.5 4.72 ...«0.47 174. .;... 6.46 ... 0.65 227.5 8.43 ... 0.84 288 10.67 ... 1.07 355.5 13.17 ... 1.32 430 15.93 ... 1.59 511.5 18.94 ... 1.90 600 22.22 ... 2.22 To this must be added the cost of tools, trimming, and superin- tendence." " The quantity removed by increasing the width at the bottom of the trench, so that it may admit pipes of the larger sizes, is very slight, being only 1 J cubic feet in 100 feet length, on increasing the width to 3 inches at the bottom. Quantity removed by in- creasing the width to 4 inches is 4f cubic feet ; to 5 inches,' lOf feet ; to 6 inches, 20f feet ; to 8 inches, 45 feet ; and to 10 inches, 791 feet. The increased cost being, for the 3 inch width, ^ cent ; for 4 inch, 2 cents ; for 5 inch, 4 cents ; for 6 inch, 8 cents ; for 8 inch, 17 cents ; and for 10 inch, 29 cents. The amount of earth removed by widening the trench for a larger pipe, is the same in every case, without regard to depth." Drains have been dug by Mr. Shedd the past season, in stiff, hard pan, 4 feet deep, for 27 cents a rod — which you see will reduce the cost materially below the estimate hitherto given. A l^rge number of very valuable tables of cubical contents and costs, 6* . 66 SEFTEMBEB. are given by Mr. Shedd, in the Report of the Maine Board of Agriculture, pp. 251-2. For such drains as I have just described to you the best conduit is drain tiles or pipes. There are three kinds : the horse shoe, a, the sole tile, b, the pipe and coUar, c ; a needs a board or something under it to keep the soft under-soil fl-om squelching into and filling it ; J is the next best, but c is by far the best of all. a and h are both hable to be disarranged ; they are laid end to end, and for ordinary drainage 2 inch pipes are amply large ; should one end of any pipe, from any cause — extra pressure or softness — get tilted or shoved one side, the flow is in- terrupted, and soon the whole drain would choke and become worth- less. This is obviated by the pipe and collar. These are round, and the joint covered with an earthem collar large enough to admit the two ends of the pipe and leave \ of an inch all round for the free entrance of water ; the pipes rest in them, and are supported at the two ends and unsupported in the middle ; the middle is, how- ever, immediately filled under and compacted with silt and mud. Perhaps some one will doubt that enough water can get into these joints to do the work. They are a foot apart, and offer openings which, making a reasonable allowance for rough ends, are not less than ^ inch square. But listen to experience : — Gisbbrne says, " This scepticism is natural, but on each point we are able to offer them abundant consolation and conviction. We have seen hundreds of drains wrought in the manner we have described, and in no instance where the land contained water of drainage have they failed to run freely. We never heard any one say they did not." The rationale of this escape of water through small pipes is ap- parent at once if you refer to the wood cut, which shows the dis- tance apart at which drains are to be laid. The pipe laid 4 feet deep — in a soil whose natural water table is 1 foot below the sur- face, has the pressure, of course, of all the water which may be over it. If water over the pipe is near the outlet into the pipe, it receives a proportional pressure, and the water in the land to be THE PAKM. 67 draiaed is forced into the drains with a pressure proportioned to its distance from the drains. The pressure of water, to the foot pei^ pendicular, is 6-j^ ounces to the square inch, and the water is' forced into the pipe with three times that pressure, and having once entered into it, escapes with the greatest rapidity. Mr. Parkes mentions a pipe, 1^ inch bore, laid down over 350 yards, an experiment, through an unctious, plastic clay, which discharged one gallon per minute during 76 days, when aU the water seemed removed fi-om the soO. Mr. Shedd calculates that, in a drain 200 feet long, laid with tiles 13 inches long and 2 inches diameter, the amount of aperture at the ends of all the pipes will be 184 joints, or 110 square inches, for the entry of water, whilst the outlet of the pipe is 3 inches ; thus the opportunity for the entrance of water is 37 times greater than for its discharge. The discharge wiU be rapid enough, however, as has been seen. In laying the pipes at convenient points, such as junctions of side with main pipes, it is well to sink a cesspool, rising to the surface of the ground, and covered with a movable .cover. These cesspools can be occasionally opened and examined, and the condition of the drain tested. Tile drains are sometimes choked by the roots of trees and branches, and by deposits of iron in very ferruginous soils ; the use of the pipe and collar reduces the danger. Pipes and collar are more expensive than horseshoe or sole tUes, but more than enough better to pay. The cost of tUes in England, allowing a fair price to the maker, is $4 a thousand feet or pieces, or ^ of a cent a foot ; and it is a discredit to our makers that we have to pay so much more. Tiles are made in various parts of the country, and in time wiU be supplied at reasonable rates. In peat lands where drains are to be made, another plan is some- times followed. Peat turfs cut and dried in the sun become as hard as coal, and jnay be used under water much like bricks with- out softening or losing shape for a long time. A drain may be cut in peat land as in A : take out all the turfs to a with a peat-cutter, and lay them by the side of the drain to dry as if for burning. 68 SEPTEMBEE. The work is begun by cutting tlie top sod, which should be re- moved by an ordinary spade ; then the peat-cutter is used, cutting across the end of the drain working backwards, a,nd taking the turf out smooth, lilce pieces of cheese. The top-drain (down to a) may be wide enough to allow a man to stand in it, and must then be about 4 cuts of turf wide. The drain being dug as far as a through its whole length, leave it till the peats cut out are dry enough for fuel. Then send in the cutter ; let him, standing in the drain, dig out one turf, the width of the cutter, exactly in the middle of the drain, down its entire length. As the material is very soft and oozy, and will probably settle in if not prevented, let another man . follow, and taking the dried peats from the side of the drain lay them across the top of this new ss:^ cut as in B. Then cover with the top sods first ' cut, then with sand, gravel, or peat, to the full height. Across drains thus made, bridges should be made at inter- vals for teams to cross ; otherwise the drain may be crushed in. Open Drains. — No drain is so poor as the common open one, dug like the others, but not filled. It is constantly collapsing,' sliding in, being undermined by muskrats, etc. Indeed, covered drains should have wire nettings at the discharge hole, to prevent vermin from getting in and choking them. For all ordinary tile drains, a diameter of 2 inches for side and cross drains, and 3 to 4 inches for the mains, is enough. Where drains cross each other, the junc- tion should be in T or elbow joints, which are supplied to order from the tile works. Irrigation. — Whilst standing water is very injurious to un- drained land, the benefits of water, when properly applied in the process of cultivation, are wonderful. In America, capital has so rarely been applied to farming, that the good it can do is but little known. If our farmers have a few spare dollars, they are much more ready to devote them to building unprofitable railroads, to buy- ing wild lands, or to shaving notes, than to improving their farms ; THE FARM. 69 though this last is the best speculation they could enter into, inas- much as their farms are entirely under their control, and will, if ju- diciously improved, pay a rate of interest that increases every year. As I have said, water when it stands in land, delays the matur- ing of a variety of crops, and yet the farmer can have no greater advantage than water — so under his control that he can apply or withdraw it at pleasure. The staple crops of that latitude in New England to which these pages apply, are Grass and Roots, and upon the amount of that crop depends the value of our farms, the net profits of our cultivation, and the general prosperity of the country. These crops are subject to serious fluctuations. When cut short it is generally by drought sometimes by too much wet. For the latter, we have seen the remedy ; now for the former ! If any farmer with large" fields of Grass and Roots could turn on water when he pleased, he could in times of drought secure his Grass from dangw-. In the late autumn he could so apply it as to stimulate and keep green the late Grass fields ; and by allow- ing it to flow freely over the surface during the spring, or by en- tirely submerging the surface, he could remove frost and start the Grass early. The same is true of all other crops ; Grain, Corri, Roots, all suffer from uncertain moisture and changing temperaturCj whilst they might by the aid of well-controlled water be culti- vated with the certainty of manufacturing. In treating of the culture of plants in greenhouses, I spoke of the value of special manures in a liquid form. In Agriculture their value is no less, yet from our liability to protracted droughts that value is often unattainable. Peruvian Guano, for instance, has a power to stimulate and support vegetation without injuring (as some falsely suppose) the soil, which is second to no manure ; and yet, being a dry and highly concentrated powder, its benefit — when added to the surface as a top-dressing, a compost, or to be ploughed in — is often imperceptible. It must be diluted to be absorbed by the roots of plants. "Were water under our control, we could effect this dilution at wUl; we might top-dress with guano, and then let in water, which would immediately soak the manure into the roots. The benefit to any one crop — whether, it 70 SEPTEMBEE. were Grass, Rye, or Wheat in the month of June, Com in August, or Eoots in September — would more than pay the cost of simple irrigative works. We might by such an application to grass-lands in July after haying, when the hot sun burns up the roots and pre- vents the growth of Rowen, or to the young Grass and Clover which follow a grain crop, secure a second crop equal to or larger than the first, and count our profit by tons of Hay and bushels of Grain or Corn. In England, this has been done ; and in the neighborhood of some large cities, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and others in Great Britain and on the continent, where sewage is attainable and can be used for irrigation. Grass crops have been cut 4, 6, and 8 times in the year, and to the amount of 20, 40, and 80 tons to the acre. A report made to Parliament states that by the apphcation of sewage water the annual rental of land near Edinburgh has been increased from $8 and $50 per acre to $150 and $200 per acre ; and that poor, sandy, sea-shore land has been raised in value by this means alone from an annual rental of 50 cents to $75 and $100 per acre. It is stated, that by the application of sewage water, the rent of land near Milan has been raised from a merely nominal value to $40 and taxes per acre. "In 1826 the Grass of the Craigintinny meadows near EdinburgJi was let for $120 to $150 per acre, whilst portions belonging to the Earl of Moray brought $285 per acre rent. Remember that this is because the frequent application of sewage during the season, gives such crops of Grass that it may be cut three or four times in the season." " Some lands at Willesden in the county of Middlesex were cut four times in one year. The first cut gave four tons to the acre, the second 8 tons, and the fourth 12 tons of ItaUan Rye Grass." " At Ashburton where liquid manure has been used for the last fifty years, land thus treated produces Grass a month earlier, and is valued at $40 to $60 per acre a year, whilst the same land not thus treated is considered worth only $6 to $8." (Essay by G. Drys- dall Dempsey, published in Weales' Series.) In applying pure water the largest benefit is got where it is al- lowed to run over the surface in a slow current ; the next, where it stands but a few hours at a time, and where the under drainage THE PAEM. 71 is complete enough to remove all soakage at once ; the least, but still a marked benefit; is got from water meadows, where the water is allowed to stand for many days, or even weeks, before being drawn off. In low meadows, which are flowed all winter, this ap- plication of water is very beneficial, as it keeps out the frost, pre- vents the early growth of coarse grasses, and fertilizes the earth by dissolving valuable materials in the soil, and carrying them directly to the roots. But if such meadows are kept under water after vegetation fairly begins, the injury exceeds the benefit, as the coarse and sour grasses start which will choke out the better quali- ties after the stagnant water is removed. A distinguished English writer on Agriculture has the following on the effects of irrigation : — "It is a commonly received opinion that the elementary .food of plants is contained in a state of solution in water, and that no plant can exist without a supply of it in a greater or less d^ree, in a dense or rarified state.'' " Without some degree of moisture the roots of Grass become withered and perish, and too great a depth over them (i.e., the roots of grass, except aquatics) is equally fatal to their existence. Stag- nant water on Grass lands encourages the worst and kills or dis- courages the feest kinds. Water in motion, whatever the depth may be, is less injurious than if quite at rest, and the shallower the current and the quicker the motion over the turf, the more the latter is excited into luxurious growth." " Many dififerent opinions are held to account for this result : that is, the luxurious growth of Grass under a thin 'flow of water in motion. One supposes that a nutritious food is deposited by the water in its course, and the greater the quantity in transition, the greater the deposit. This idea rests on the presumption that min- eral or decayed vegetable substances float in the water, and that they are intercepted by, or lodged among, the leaves of plants. This may be partly true ; but when it is observable that where there is the greatest quantity of sediment, the Grass grows least, and where there is no visible sediment whatever, the growth then is strongest, we must attribute the luxuriance to some other cause than the de- position of substances from the water." "As early and as heavy crops are obtained by using the purest 72 SEPTEMBER. water, as by that which is full of all manner of impurities ; not but land is enriched by deposits of decomposed animal aud vegeta- ble matter, and which would be strongly evident in the future growth of crops of Grass or Corn. Yet for the temporary purpose of irrigation, perhaps the most transparent water is the most eifi- cient. It must be borne in mind that heat, light, and air are indis- pensable agents in the development as well as maturation of plants. If they be kept m a low temperature, secluded from fresh air, or kept in darkness, they are inactive, or languish and die. Applying these facts, while considering the effects of irrigation, we may safely conclude that the energies of the plant are excited by being protected from the chUhng night air, while they enjoy a higher de- gree of heat, generated by the motion of the current ; and at the same time, are not excluded from the direct action of solar light." " Nor can a thin covering of water be said to deprive the plants of the necessary portion of air. The agitated portion of the former mingle with the latter air, so that there is an intimate connection, which enhances by mutual influence the effects of both." " From these observatiotis it would appear that irrigation pro- motes the development of grass by its instrumentality in affording protection from cold air ; by its generation of heat, and by its free admission of every ray of light. It moreover thickens the sward by increasing the number and inducing the simultaneous production of leaves, rather than by exciting the premature production of stems. By such effects, irrigation is said to be a sweetener of the turf, because there is a thick and equal growth of leaves at the bottom. The deposit of warp or mud contained in most river water, possesses fertilizing properties, proportioned to the soil and other substances from which it has been obtained, and it must be valuable in the same proportion for the permanent improvement of the land ; but where the object is a quick succession of grass, much deposit injures the herbage, and sharper streams have been found better adapted to the surface." I shall not now proceed with the subject of liquid manures as fit for the growth of plants, but leave that for another month, to which it more properly belongs, while I proceed to describe the prepara- tion necessary for the diffusion of water over the surface. THE FARM. 73 Irrigation may be effected in several ways : 1st, when the farm is bounded by a brook, river, or pond which is sufficiently above the fields to be irrigated to have a flow over and through them to their lowest part, whence the water may be conveyed away into another field, or into some outlet for drainage. 2d, where water can be dammed up at the mouth of a brook which passes through any fields, and by flooding back, may make a water-meadow which may be drawn down at will. 3d, where damming will flood back a stream tiU it swells high enough to be conveyed by drains to the land to be irrigated. 4th, where water is forced byhydraulic rams, or by windmills, to an elevated point, whence it may be distributed over the surface. The first of these methods of getting water is evidently the most economical and simple, the works needed being merely gates and sluices, which will enable us to check the current, so that by open- ing the sluice gate the water will run in the desired direction. Even under these circumstances it is desirable that the field should slope gently from the watery side to its farthest boundary. In such a field, as soon as the water is admitted into one end of the leading drains it will flow without delay to the other, unless its path is obstructed ; and by resorting to simple devices we may spread it as widely as we please. I shall quote again from the author last cited a description of one method of constructing works for irriga- tion. " Let us suppose there is a field of moderate size, say six or eight acres, which is intended to be irrigated ; from the upper to the lower end there is a fall of five or six feet ; across the upper end an open dit-ch is made, banked on both sides so ' that it will hold water to stand one foot higher than the surface of the meadow ad- joining. Into this ditch the water is admitted from the river, either by a weir or daiia across, or by an open duct cut from a point higher up the stream, which saves the expense of making a dam, which might be otherwise inconvenient. A supply of, or inlet for, the water being thus secured, the next operation is laying out the leaders, inclined tables, and catch-drains. We cannot convey a clearer idea of the manner in which the surface of the water mead- ows should be laid out, than by supposing that the whole was 7 74 SEPTEMBER. ploughed lengthway and laid into twice-gathered lands or ridges of eight yards each." The wood cut shows a field twenty-four yards wide. A land or ridge twice-gathered is shown by laying this out in three lands, each eight yai'ds wide. Now run the first furrow down through the centre from x to a;', and return on the other side of the furrow thus made from a;' to x; and so continue till the whole land is ploughed ; this will leave the middle higher than the sides of the land. Repeat the process with h and c, and the field upon completion of ploughing will be thrown into three ridges and four hollows. "Along the crowns of the ridges (x to a;'), water-leaders (c, on plan, p. ' 75) are made, diminishing in width from the main at the top to where they terminate near the receiving ditch at the bot- tom; the catch-drains are shallow and narrow at top, but are made gradually wider and deeper at the lower end. It will be easily conceived that when the water is admitted into the leaders from the main at top, either by withdrawing sluice-gates previously fixed, or by removing thick heavy turfs, used as stoppers, the water will flow along till the leaders are brim full and running over on both sides along their whole length. It comes down the slopes, falls into the catch-drains, and is carried off into the bottom ditch, and from thence again on to the river." " An attendant, shod in water-tight boots, keeps an eye on the action of the leaders, to see to the equal distribution of the water, and by raising or depressing the edges over which it flows, or by introducing a stopper of thick turf into the leader, regulates the flow of water in every parti If there be a fuU supply of water, the whole meadow may be irrigated at once ; if not, one part may be done before another. It should be well understood that the more copious the supply of water, the quicker it flows over the surface, and the sooner it is let off the more effectual is the process, and the more rapid will be the growth of the Grass." "When the surface of the meadow is undulating, the first object to be attended to is, whether the hollows can be dried by catch- THE PABM. 75 di-ains ; if so, the leaders must be made straight, or winding along the highest part of the knolls, whence the water will flow down the slopes to the catch-drains in the hoUows." " Where there are different levels, or where the leaders, from being too long, act imperfectly, the irrigator throws his catch-drains into divisions, by which the whole becomes more effectually watered, in consequence of an accelerated motion being given to the water. Where, however, the plane of the surface of the field presents a considerable descent, the leaders and catch-drains, instead of being car- ried straight across it, are cut in an angular direction across the line of descent with such an inclina- tion as will best favor the gradual though certain discharge of the water; for in some situations the declivity of the ground is so great as to render it necessary to make leaders at certain distances below each other, to catch the water at different points of the fall and thus prevent its too rapid passage." A, river ; B, head ditch to receive the water; c, leaders to conduct water ; d, catch-drains ; E, ditch to conduct water back to river; x, fences. The drains may be made perma- nent, or may be shovelled out anew each time we plough the field. When once it is laid down to grass, the drains may be grassed like the it rest of the field. When level land is irrigated ac- cording to the methods . just de- scribed, it must be very much ridged in ploughing to insure a flow for the water from the leaders into SEPTEMBER. 3 catch-drains. But level land should never be irrigated unless s under drainage is very good. Flow meadows or water meadows are made by damming any ook that crosses a meadow, — perhaps even a ditch, — making 3 dam high enough to flow the water back not less than a foot, ■ better two feet, in cold regions, — over the whole field. The Iter should be deep enough not to freeze to the bottom ; for ould it freeze to the sward, a rain or flush of water might raise 3 ice suddenly and tear up the grass with it. The method of irrigation by catch-drains just described would very expensive on steep hillsides, or on very undulating sur- 3es, and is ' said by some who have tried it not to convey the Iter to all parts of the field with sufficient rapidity. Another system better adapted to such surfaces, and recom- 3nded by its very simplicity, shall be presently described. My readers may object that expensive works for irrigation and aining are well enough adapted to the rich lauds and men of igland, but would be less profitable or possible in the more sterile d cheap lands and on the small farms of New England. The ob- ction would have weight to superficial thinkers only ; for irriga- in has been most effective on the steep and seemingly sterile ll-sides of the West of England and Scotland. In such places, comparatively little reliance has been placed on 3 water in summer, when all brooks and springs are liable to be ied up ; but in late autumn and early spring it furnishes grass " pasture. It is turned on, as the season grows cold, and running )wly in a thin sheet over the surface from one catch-drain to the xt, by its motion, as has been observed on a preceding page, it eps the ground over which it runs warmer than the uncovered tl, and thus keeps the grass growing until the cold becomes suf- iently severe to freeze running water to the sod ; then the water shut off", and the icy covering partially protects the grass till a a,w, when the water is at once turned on, be it a spring or a win- ? thaw, till again frozen, or till cut off by drought. Thus in the early month of January (corresponding to our March) e running water warms and protects the Grass roots, and the ung and tender herbage grows rapidly, furnishing early feed. THE FAKM. 77 Travellers have been astonished in visiting the farms where the practice prevails, to see verdant hill-sides at a season when all else is brown and bare. It will be seen that it is a reasonable practice, and after Nature's example. Call to mind any bleak, unsheltered hill, where a brook runs during fall, winter, and spring, and you will remember the green line of grass that marks the course of the water, long after winter has seized all other green places, and long before spring has proclaimed itself even in the most sheltered spots. And this early coming and later stay of vegetation is not the only gain ; for where pastures and hill-sides are naturally sterile, or covered with moss and sour vegetation from having been too long pastured, a stream of pure water turned so as to trickle over the surface, is found to sweeten the soil, banish moss and rubbish, and produce short, sweet herbage with the same certainty that a top-dressing of wood ashes brings out Clover on every soil. England is not the only country where this practice has been followed with great advantage. There are many farmers among the Swiss Alps who have irrigated for years without knowing of any similar practice in other countiies. These farmers, finding their supply of water in the streams that come from the glaciers, on the very edge of which they live, have converted land that was not worth fencing, into land that cuts six and eight tons of hay to the acre. Their system of irrigation is as follows : — Having decided upon the size of your " catch-meadow," lay off the hill by the level into lines a, marking them as you go by stones, stakes, or sods raised with the spade ; the lines may be at such dis- tance apart as you please, and however near together they may start, the varying inequalities in the field as the lines of level are followed across its face will make any close parallelism between them impossible. Next dig the leaders x ; these will be tapped at y, to draw the water into the catch-drains. Beyond the last y the leaders x become catch or watering-drains themselves. Now from points equally distant, or at such distances apart as you please, on the line of the first catch-drain, draw straight lines crossing all the lines of level, a, previously laid out at R, to the farthest ex- tremity of the field. Then take a spade, four to six inches wide at the point, or a 7* 78 SEPTEMBER. plough invented for the purpose, which cuts and throws out a strip of turf four inches wide, and dig or plough along the lines of level, a, until they are all thus dug out. Your field is now divided by a series of small ditches. To ensure the water's running through these with suflELcient rapidity, their inclination may be varied as seems best. Now with spade or plough, cut the transverse lines of drains h, thus dividing the field into irregular quadrilaterals. The b set of lines are the leaders through which THE FARM. 79 -J m 1 =! r « water may be supplied to the top, bottom, or any part of the field at will by inserting into the mouths of the catch-drains pieces of sod cut to fit them exactly, thus blocking out the water when and where we please. A section of such a field would appear as shown in cut C, where a a and c c are the catch-drains shown before. Cut E shows the intersection of catch and cross-drains. The peculiar ad- vantage of this sys- tem — apart from the ease and rapidity with which it can Jbe car- ried out is the cer- tainty, with which the water is conveyed oflf the surface or to dis- o, catch-drains ; *, cross-drains ; c, stops of turf. tant points of the field irrigated. The levels once established, there need be no expense in clearing drains every year or two, for at such intervals the spade or the ditch-plough should run along at the side of the old drain to cut a new one, the sod or earth turned out of this being used to stop up the old drain. I have urged these two matters of drainage and irrigation at this length, because they are the two surest methods of raising the rental of all our farms, and because there is no land too poor to be benefited by one or the other ; and neither is so expensive that any farmer should be terrified. Eemember that the ■ English farmers, few of whom are fortunate enough to own the farms on which they live, are obliged to get the profits of their investments in permanent improvements during the continuance of their leases ; and yet most of these improvements are made by tenants who hire their whole farms, either at their own expense or by paying interest on money advanced to them to make such improvements, by their landlords or government. These farms are often hundreds of acres in ex- tent, and are leased at rentals, varying from one to fifty dollars per acre, and averaging $12 to $15 per acre, with rates and taxes in addition. 80 SEPTEMBER. How much, more reasonably, then, may such improvements be made by our farmers, who are not obliged to get the returns from their investments in a few years, but may enjoy them for life with a right to transmit them to posterity. September is the month in which to undertake these improve- ments^ there is generally more leisure then than at any other period of the farming year ; and the work once begun should be prosecuted as long as the weather allows. Drains may be dug even in winter, although if they are to be covered, it is well to guard the bottom from being affected and softened by frost. It will be observed by referring to the plan that the whole estate is underdrained, and the farm irrigated wherever Jow enough to command water, different methods of irrigation being tried in different fields. . The simplest way of locating the drains, is to use a level much in vogue among masons. Three strips of wood, two of which are about 12 feet long, the other of any length, are jointed together to make a huge A, thus. Cut and joint them so that when the instrument rests on the points A and C on a level floor, the bar E D will be perfectly horizontal which may be tested as follows : insert a pivot at B ; and find the middle of E D ; sus- pend from the pivot a plumb line B a; ; y, marks the middle of E D, and if the instrument stands level on its legs A C, the line B X will cut y. If this is not the case, adjust A and C till it is. Now going out iiito the field set the leg C on the point from which you wish to start your level for the first catch-drain and move the leg A, till it rests in such a position as to make the line B x cut y, when the points A and C must be on the same level. Drive a stake or raise a sod to mark these points ; remove the leg C to the point where A rested, and repeat the process. With such an in- strument, an intelligent man can lay out the catch-drains for a field of many acres in a day. " CHAPTER X. ORNAMENTAL. It is but little work to keep in order ornamental grounds on which the work has once been thoroughly done ; but we have a deal of such work to do for the coming year, and must be at it as soon as possible. The avenue has been but roughly made ; so with the roads to the barn. The faxm-roads, the paths in the flower-garden and those to the grapery, farm-house, and kitchen-garden are finished. All other paths exist only on the plan. The pond extends no farther than is shown by the dotted lines ; the side-slopes of the main avenue are unfinished ; the bridges only temporary ; and be- yond the woods there is no ornamental plantation. Our attention should first be given to the avenue, as being both the means of access to the estate, and as the object which gives the first impression to visitors or occupants. It passes through a gravelly soil with a top stratum of gravelly loam to the depth of 18 inches. It enters, as shown by the topographical lines of the plan on the crown of a ridge, .^ _= which has sufiicient slope in ^rt ^= either direction to carry off ^g— -— ----^-ajgr-^^^^^^^llIlllJ^^ water rapidly either by the "" surface of the road, or through drains below, and was made as follows : the road was excavated 2 feet deep and 15 feet wide ; the loam, the first 18 inches, was carted off to fill up inequalities in the surface of the lawn wherever it was needed, and to bank the avenue at those points along the hill where there were cuttings. The gravel was dug out 6 inches deep and laid up in piles at the road-side. When the men who were digging had advanced some few rods, another set began to make the avenue. They first laid in by hand stones about the size of a double fist to the depth 81 82 SEPTEMBER. of 6 inches. In the middle, a V drain, as to be described, was made as the stones were laid. On top of these stones and thor- oughly covering the drain was laid 15 inches of smaller stones, as shown in the cut, always keeping the stones at least 3 inches higher in the crown or middle of the road than at the sides; over these stones enough of the gravel already piled beside the road was laid to make a covering to the road-bed 24 inches deep, and this should bring the centre of the road on a level with the surface of the surrounding soil. This gravel was thrown upon the road by the shovel, and one man in the road, with a long-toothed iron rake, distributed the gravel equally over the sur- ffi face, always drawirtg toward S^g^ him the loose stones out of the ■gr gravel, and repeating the op- ^f^ eration with the next gravel = thrown on, thus spreading it out, layer over layer, and leaving the surface of the road covered with fine gravel clear of stones. If this work is carefully done, travel and the action of wheels passing over it will force the fine gravel down among the stones beneath, pressing the small stones of the upper layer in their turn more compactly into those below them, and so on to the bottom. A few months' wear will suffice to make this avenue firm and com- pact, and will insure dry, good driving at all seasons of the year. It can freeze only 4 inches deep, and will of course thaw and dry rapidly. Roads freeze just in proportion to the amount of water that stands suspended in their material. If this is all loam it holds water like a sponge, and freezes and thaws accordingly ; if all gravel, it holds less water and freezes less ; if but 4 inches of it is gravel, it holds scarcely any water unless frozen during a rain. This is so, because, — 1st, there can be no standing water on a crowned surface ; all that falls and is not at once absorbed runs oflF immediately into the gutters, and so is carried into the natural or artificial drainage of the surrounding surface. 2d, a surface thus ORNAMENTAL. 83 made . and crowned is hard and compact, like a house roof, and absorbs hardly more water than a roof; 3d, the little that may be absorbed will trickle rapidly into the more open stones below, and will thence find the drain in the middle of the road, which is quite out of the reach of frost, and will convey the ^water into the pond or other receptacle where it discharges. After this road has been used some six or nine months, put on about two inches in depth of screened gravel. That first put on will have been lowered by pressure about that distance and can be forced no farther, so that this dressing will be final. Where roads cross low places, as ours crosses the island, it is well — if the road-bed is higher than the ordmary level of the neigh- boring water — to crown the bed a little, but less than the surface of the drive-way, say two inches, and lay on each side a tile drain, or stone drain, of 1 to 3 inches discharge, instead of the single V drain, and then fiU in as directed above. Boads made in this manner consume considerable time and ■ money, but are, nevertheless, the cheapest roads in the end. The manner in which roadmaking is practised, even in the neighborhood of Boston, where roads are better than in any other part of the United States, is very unscientific. The men whose office it is to first make the road (County Commissioners, ete.), fearing to startle the tax-payers and voters by presenting a high estimate for the cost of making roads, allow the work to be done in the most indifferent way. They content themselves with skim- ming the soil down to the gravel, and then shovelling from the sides of the road a few inches of gravel to crown it a little in the middle, and finally covering the whole with a very thin dressing of gravel. This method does tolerably well where the road-bed is hard pan and the surface drainage is good, although even then, frosts and thaws, and the oozing of water from springs in adjoining high lands, make mud of disgusting depth in winter and spring ; but where the road-bed is not hard pan, but soft or loamy gravel, or where it traverses boggy land, this method produces roads vile beyond description, except in midsummer or early autumn, although better than most roads in the Western and Southern States. Even now, some of the towns and cities in the vicinity of Bos,- 84 SEPTEMBKR. ton, — Cambridge for instance, — pursue this or a worse system, and thus subject tax-payers both to the first cost of the road, and to a large yearly bill for repairs. The important and vital requisite to the possession of good roads, is close attention to good drainage. It is to the standing and soak- age of water that all our bad roads are due. Footpaths. — Our footpaths, like those in the flower-garden, to the greenhouse and grapery, should be made like the avenue, only narrower, for it is important that they should be dry at all seasons. But the paths that traverse lawn and woods, like those on the south of the house, may be made much more simply. It will be enough to dig ofi" six inches or a foot of the top soil, and replace it with gravel, crowned about 1^ inches in 6 feet. Even less than this is sufficient for paths that go through woodland or other places little visited. For them, either dig out 3 inches and fill in with gravel, or merely dig out and invert the sod, and cover with loam to kill the grass and weeds. Indeed, the rural beauty of all decidedly retired places, is sadly marred by the appearance of trim gravel walks. Where wild flowers and blossoming shrubs, free songs of birds, the murmur of the brook, or the plash of water on the bank of pond or river, fill us with a feeling of sohtude, we dislike any appearance of man's labor or artificial improvement. At the bottom of all our hearts is an appi-eciation of the exquisite character of simple, natural beauty, and an admission that nature far excels man in producing beautiM effects with earth, grass, trees, and water. If we are strolling through secluded meadows, and beside unfrequented waters, in natural woodlands or forests, however much we may enjoy the beauty or the delight of discovery, there is an additional interest to most of us, in the fact that others have enjoyed the same pleasures, as we know by the herbage bent beneath the tread of man or beasts, by a rough seat, or by any similar evidence not out of keeping with the surrounding natural objects. But if our way lies through a thickly settled country, where artificial life is con- stantly forced upon us, where all walks are formal and gravelled, all gardens trim ,and hedged, fences straight, and trees in formal ORNAMENTAL. 85 lines, it is an additional pleasure to come upon a spot where nature seems hardly to have been disturbed, where the path we follow seems to have been made by loose cattle, or is a wood road, too little used to be regularly made, and so left to wind in and out to avoid a standing tree or projecting rock. Such roads, with their three tracks, two wheel ruts, and between them the path for the feet of men or animals, overgrown with grass and spangled with White Clover and Butter-cup, or gay with Asters or Golden-rod, are an unfailing source of delight to all true lovers of nature. Let us practise on the lesson they teach when we make paths through ornamental grounds ; paths are merely for convenience, and should never attract attention in any other way than as being well adapted to bring out the irregularities of the surface, and the views of the landscape. CHAPTER XL BANKS. It was directed that a portion of the loam dug from the road-bed should be carried to points where banks are to be formed. In the construction of banks more mistakes are made than in almost any other branch of ornamental improvement. The rule for our guid- ance is, to make all banks such as shall conform to nature's practice under similar circumstances. Nature never makes terraces except on an immense scale, as shown in the banks of rivers where the stream has worked from one level to another; and man should never make them except from necessity. The banks about a house should not be disguised by artifice, to conceal the fact that it has been raised above the surrounding surface, but should be made to assume natural slopes, because such slopes are more pleasing to the eye, more easily made, and can be preserved at less expense. Whenever circumstances compel us to set a building on a hill- side so steep that the observer fears lest a jostle should slide the building from its place, we ought to throw out such a bank as will broaden the base on which it seems to rest, and thus remove the feeling of insecurity. If it be necessary to break the bank into two or more to economize material, or for some other imperative reason, the necessity justifies the act ; but under no circumstances is such an arrangement beautiful. It is always hard and formal, and should be avoided. When a bank is to be made, consider the natural surface of the adjacent land. If it is to be laid up about a house, observe the slope of the surface on which the house stands, and try to give your bank the same slope or one in harmony with it. Thus, B is a house on a hill-side. If the bank slope to a, as shown by the dotted line B a, it is harsh ; if to b, it is more harmonious ; if to c, it is perfectly so, and is confluent with the natural slope of 86 BANKS. 87 the hill, as shown by the unbroken line ending at C. The eye then rises along the slope to the top of the bank, and then easily takes in the whole house. More- over, such a bank and slope give grace and dignity to the- house. Or again, suppose' a road to be cut across the face of a hill, thus. A, road; B, top of Iiill ; C, bottom. The bank, yp, is harsh; fd is better; buty"e is harmonious, and confluent with the general slope of the hill. If banks or slopes must be, they cannot be made too well, as they are to be grassed, and perhaps planted with shrubbery ; the follow- ing is the method in which they should be made, without exception. Decide upon the slope ; if you are to make a bank fill up within 2 feet of the line of slope, and parallel to it ; add 2 inches of oyster shells, old bones, or similar manure ; then fill up 2 inches above the top line of slope with rich or well-manured loam, to allow for general shrinking; tread freely to prevent subsequent shrinking. When it is perfectly firm, rake the surface thoroughly with a long-toothed iron rake, and then sow seed and beat or roll in. If it is to be sodded, fill up with well-packed loam to the line of slope, then cut thin sods, not over 2 inches thick, and cover the bank ; beat them thoroughly, to press their roots well down into the earth. Water occasionally if the weather is not dry ; if it is, water every day, till the sod has begun to grow ; then give it a few doses of manure-water, and gradually cease to attend to it. If a slope is to be made on a hill-side, cut down to the line of slope you propose to maintain. If in so doing you come to the hard gravel, dig it off at least 18 inches, and replace it with such material as was directed for the bank. If, however, you do not come upon gravel, trench and thoroughly manure, then sod and grass as above. CHAPTER XII. LAWN. The lawn is divided into three parts : one west of the house and drive ; one south of the house and north of the path ; and one south of the path to the woods. The last is to be treated like ordinary grass-land, and has already been laid down to grass ; viz., Red-top, Timothy, and White and Red Clover. The portion west of the house is abeady in lawn, but that south of the avenue is to be laid down this fall. It has been cultivated this year in early Potatoes, which were dug late in August. For some years it was in grass, and had been pretty well exhausted. Last year it was ploughed and sub- soiled, with a Michigan plough, to the depth of 18 inches, and the rocks and large stones were removed. In April it was dressed with compost, — 8 cords to the acre, — which was well though lightly ploughed in, care being taken not to disturb the sod inverted last fall. It was then planted with the Potatoes as mentioned. Remembering that we are undertaking to make a permanent lawn in a climate naturally dry, we must spare no pains in doing the work thoroughly. First, make the drains shown on the plan by red lines, laying them with tiles 3 to 4 feet deep. Now cart on not less than 4 cords to the acre, of the best manure we have. Spread the manure no faster than it can be dug in ; at the same time and rate spread common plaster, not less than 600 pounds to the acre. Having made these preparations, trench the whole field 18 inches deep, or otherwise thoroughly subsoil. The process of trenching is as follows : The parallelogram, a, i, c, d, is a field; open a ditch at one end 18 inches deep, and 2 feet wide (a e,fc), and carry the earth dug from it to the edge of the other end of the field, and there 88 LAWN. 89 pile it up in the space within the dotted lines. Then open another trench or ditch (e, g, h, /), and throw the earth into the first trench (a, e,f, c), mixing well the manure and plaster, and thus continue tiU the whole, field has been dug over. The earth piled at b, i, k, d, will fiU the last trench, and complete the work. Spread over the surface, as a top-dressing, 200 pounds Peruvian Guano to the acre ; then rake with a short-toothed iron rake. Sow and roll in the seed, using double the quantity usually recom- mended to the acre for laying down grass-lands, of Red-top (2 bushels), Timothy (20 quarts), White Clover (8 pounds), and Yellow Clover (8 pounds). White Clover is very liable to be winter-killed the first winter ; so, to save seed, you may defer sow- ing it till late winter or early spring, when it may be sowed on the sward. Add to this Vernal grass (1 bushel to the acre), which will give a peculiar- fragrance at every mowing. Roll thoroughly. Other combinations of grass seeds are given hereafter. This work should be done in August, and must not be left later than the first fortnight in September, otherwise the grass will not set well before winter. 8* CHAPTER XIII. TREES AND SHRUBS. Stake out the places for ornamental trees and shrubs which are to be planted this fall, and have the holes dug, well prepared, and filled in to the top, for this will save much time when you come to plant. For trees, dig holes 2 feet deep, 4 feet in diameter. At the bottom you may put well-rotted manure 6' inches deep ; but by no means let it come within 6 inches of the roots when planted. It is for food to the tree in the second year, when we want rapid growth. The holes for most shrubs need not be more than 3 feet in diameter, and when well dug, should be from 12 to 18 inches . wider at bottom than at top : and the bottom should be well loosened with spade, pick- axe, or bar. As selepting the places where we are to plant trees must be preliminary to digging the holes, let us give a Httle thought to the principles which should guide that selection. Mr. Downing, referring to the difficulty of grouping trees, and in advising persons who were not well skilled in making plantations, and yet wished to produce the charm of variety and irregularity while they shunned stiffness and formality, mentions approvingly the practice of a man who went out with a basket of Potatoes, and threw them up into the air with various degrees of force, and then planted a tree where each Potato had fallen. This he asserted would produce better irregularity than is likely to occur to unprac- ticed planters. I think this scheme most injudicious, and that it would be pro- ductive of barbarous results when followed. 90 TREES AND SHRUBS. 9l Nature seems never to fail in producing beautiful groups, whether they be looked at in winter, summer, or autumn. In spray, in full foliage, or in autumnal coloring, her trees are always beautiful, always seem just fit for their place. It veiy rarely happens that any of her groups, with which man has not meddled, seem badly arranged. Why it is that so very few of man's plantations escape criticism, and so very few of nature's are open to it, I know not, unless it be that the Divinity of nature is so powerful in its control over the mind that we tacitly admit it to be irreverent to criticise heir. Selecting the most beautiful group of trees that we are ac- quainted with, let us study it, and seek the causes of its power over us. They are many — irregularity of outline but one among them ; variety of species gives variety of form, of spray, of leaf, of top, of color. Whether in spring or fall, all are there, and each contributes so largely to the beauty of the whole, that we could not remove one without the risk of destroying the beauty of all. The most attractive groups are not those in which but one or two varieties are found, but those where there are several kinds of trees with shrubs intermingled. For there is to every tree a char- acter, and an individuality which is most clearly brought out by contrast. The form of the Ehn is very graceful ; it is very much and very finely divided ; and its spray and smaller branches are ahiiQst always somewhat pendant. The grace of the tree is proverbial. The Hickory is also graceful ; not a branch or a twig of it is straight, its whole spray is full of- irregularity, and yet its expres- sion is contest and resistance rather than grace and pliancy. It is one of the hardest and toughest of woods, and this character is shown in every branch. The Oak is very- different from these. When it is relieved against a clear evening sky, where every branch, however ' small, is sharply defined, we see but few absolutely straight lines, and yet the character of the tree is angular, rigid, unyielding, though never stiff, — from that quality it is redeemed by its dignity and reset'ved force, — still it is never in any sense pliant or graceful 92 SEPTEMBEK. The Ash is made up of straight lines, is stiff, and is rarely pos- sessed of any pretensions to grace ; at the same time a perfect Ash is a most beautiful tree. The Horse-chestnut has its own peculiar, stubby branches, its uniform shape, its dense shade ; is, in a word, a cabbage on a stick. We might, were, this the proper place, easily set forth the varie- ties in form of all our common trees, and trace them to their causes ; but it is needless to enlarge upon facts that are patent to every -lover of nature. And the varieties of form are not more marked than those of color and character of foliage. From Ever- greens to Oaks and Maples, there is every shape and shade of leaf, and the satisfactory character of an artificial plantation will depend, mainly, on the judgment with which varieties are coinbined. An old writer (Gilpin) on Landscape Gardening, laid it down as a rule, that satisfactory planting could only be attained by masses of trees of the same kind, because many of a kind were necessary to give the character of the individual to a group. This is true where trees are to be planted over many acres ; but where a man's arboretum is confined to a few specimens or groups of trees, he would lose all the pleasure derived from variety and from agreeable contrasts of light and shade, the graceful with the stiff, the spiry- topped with the horizontally branched, by following such a course. Besides, nature, as has been said, rarely makes a group of a single species. 'There may be a prevalence of one kind, as in some of our meadows of the Red Maple, but the stem of the White Birch will gleam through the green leaves ; in some part of the group will be the dark color of the Pine, Hemlock, or Cedar, — a single tree it may be, but enough to tone the whole ; — at another point will project the rough, contorted, but horizontal branches of the Swamp White Oak ; the edge will be thick with shrubs of every form and color, — Viburnum, Cornel, Clethra, Black Alder ; while running through and over all, will be the feathery festoon of the Virgin's Bower, the glistening leaves of the Horse Brier, the crimson stem of the changing Woodbine, and the gold of the Ivy. Study every natural group you see, and make yourself master of its beauty and the causes of it, and you will not only find that its variety and irregularity are wonderful, but that the system by TREES AND SHRUBS. 93 which it was all developed can be followed as well as analyzed. It is the result of careful study and well-planned planting ; and although the greatest carelessness seems to prevail, we see that nothing could be removed without injuring the whole. Every tree-stem has its own peculiar beauty of lichens and mosses. The rocks are green, golden, or brown, as the rain is frequent or rare ; the flowers are light or dark colored, as shade or sunlight needs contrast Every part is perfectly balanced. This may be the work of chance, but it is a chance which is perfectly uniform in its action, which may be reasoned on and predicted, and reduced to tabular views ; a chance — if a chance — that has proceeded by nde and regulation from the earliest period of man's observation till now'. It is not my intention to inquire why God makes beauty ; he does make it, and that most lavishly, and without regard to the pos- sibility of man's ever being benefited by it The depths of imex- plored forests, unopened mines, and unfathomed seas are all aglow with beauty, grace, and variety ; and no appreciative mind but must always be fiill of delight at the manifestations of love shown in this peculiar regard for the beauty which may be given to the most common objects, to recommend them to man's attention when discovered ; and one must be awed too by the certainty of the carefiil and deliberate design and plan which influenced the con- ception and development of every object in nature. Shall we then who wish to reproduce such beauty, to imitate the Master's workmanship, to make plantations that may communicate to us and to our neighbors the same pleasure and instruction we derive from God's planting, resort to the blindest of chances, worse than dice or lottery ? I do not mean to say that Mr. Downing advised the Potato ex- ercise as a general or the best practice, but he mentions it with such commendation that men of ordinary judgment, and a slight ac- quaintance with the art of planting, will be very much inclined to adopt the plan. That some A or B might by chance have been successfiil in this way is true ; but it would be mere chance ; and it is to be regretted that Mr. D. should have mentioned it with any hint at favoring it, for several persons have quoted such a plan !^4 SEPTEMBER. to me, and it may be often found in print, as an infallible guide in making an effective plantation, whilst in reality it is the merest non- sense. Our rules, therefore, for planting are : study well your material ; then study the outlines of all the best natural groups you know ; make careful notes of the way in which the varieties are combined, how near the trees are to each other, how often nature has planted them close together, how often within a few feet of each other, how often at the distance of 20 or 30 feet. See where she has intro- duced a mossy rock ; how she has drawn attention to some points by a mass of Woodbine hung on a projecting branch or twined round the nodding top of a Cedar, or swinging from the pendant branches of an Elm. See how she has given a rounded form or great angularity and prominence to a group by relieving against a Willow or Maple a picturesque Hemlock or Hackmatack. Make yourself master of all this ; draw it out on paper ; and then, so far as you can, reproduce the effects you like best by transferring them by eye or measurement to the ground to be planted. Do not expect to satisfy yourself or to escape the sage criticism of those who, very like, cannot distinguish a Cat Brier from a Gilly- flower, cannot name one in a hundred of the trees, shrubs, and flowers which surround their homesteads ; or of those who do every thing by rule and line, and see beauty in graceful Hemlocks clipped into hideous resemblances to lions and cocks ; who admire the straight line only, and would regularly curve, or straighten and enclose with a stone wall, the wild and indented margins of our ponds and streams ; who worship Lilacs, Snow-balls, and Carna- tions, but are quite indifferent to Viburnums, Cornels, Fringed Gentians, Wild Roses; Clethras, and Cardinal flowers. If they condemn your efforts to reproduce Nature and to imitate her pro- fuse, graceful, and irregular variety, they are simply to be .pitied, and their comments are to be despised. What you have done will become more beautiful, more and mor^ like nature, every year ; and wiU, as soon as it has had time to grow, give delight to every one who can appreciate Nature herself, and can see in the work of a man the spirit and intention which guided him, though im- perfectly expressed. CHAPTER XIV. GREENHOUSE. iCTOBER. There will be but little new work in the greenhouse in October. The plants potted from the ground last month may now be taken from the shade and arranged on the shelves and platforms which they are to oc- cupy during the winter. When you arrange them on the tables, set the largest in the mid- dle, and graduate the others according to size, so that the mass of foliage may slope regularly down to the edges of the tables : place on the shady side those plants which thrive best out of the direct sunlight. In front and on the hanging shelves those small plants are to be placed which need direct light, and which, not being rapid growers, wiU not interfere much with each other. If any Monthly Roses, Verbenas, Pelargoniums, Lantanas, Chrysanthemums, or Carnations, still remain in the garden, they must be remo\ied at once, otherwise there will be no time for them to make new roots before the beginning of winter. Cut down Achimenes and gradually dry them up. Prepare thumb-pots or pans, and sow in them seeds of Lobelia, Nemophila, Nierembergia, etc., which will be wanted in the spring to hang from the roofs of the greenhouse, conservatory, etc. ; set these pots and pans on the sills of the windows, or anywhere near the light Do not neglect the bulbs mentioned last month, but plant at once those that were not then planted ; and if any planted have fairly begun to grow, give them water, though very sparingly at first Pot Ixias and Sparaxis if not already done ; set Cinerarias, Neapolitan Violets, and Daisies into frames. Keep most of your plants cool and rather dry, as they will then 95 96 OCTOBER. make more hardy roots and growth than if over-stimulated ; all the Camelias need abundant water, and Chrysanthemums liquid ma- nure. During aU warm and dry weather keep the sashes and ven- tilators open, and allow the air free access during the night as well as the day, but avoid any thing like chilling the plants. It is not necessary to resort to artificial heat at present. Use water rather sparingly, though frequent syringings will be very beneficial, for water thus applied comes in the most natural form in which plants can receive it. Rain is important to out-of- door plants, not only as a supply of water, but because it sets leaves and twigs in motion as it runs over them, and washes away dust, and insects and their eggs. Aekation. — The system of ventilation in our greennouse furnishes air both in suflScient quantities and in the most natural way. One would naturally suppose that plants are benefited by the motion of their leaves and branches, and numerous experiments have shown this to be true ; for where currents of air have been used to ventilate greenhouses, the plants have been more thrifty than where air has been admitted without regard to its course within the house. In a dwelling-house the whole object of ventilation is gained by securing a constant supply of fresh air without any annoying draughts. But " ventilation " does not properly describe the true system of admitting air to plants in greenhouses, where the current or draught is essential to the welfare of the vegetation. A distinguished vegetable physiologist explains this matter as follows : " Ventilation is the process of letting the external air at once into the forcing-house ; and aeration is the art of keeping the air of the forcing-house in constant motion by currents of warmed fresh air. The importance of aeration cannot be over-estimated ; it is the one thing which now requires to be secured in order to render our artificial climates natural. Man's reason must tell him that a plant condemned to pass its life in a still atmosphere, is like nothing, so much as a criminal condemned to pass his life in an everlasting pillory. In order to secure motion' in the vegetable GKEENHOUSE. 97 kingdom, currents of air are made to do the work of the ifluscle, limbs, and volition, of animals. " It is not at all improbable that in addition to the mechanical effects of motion in assisting the propulsion of the sap, it may be important that the stratum of air in contact with the leaves of plants should be incessantly shifted, in order to enable them to procure an adequate supply of food, for we find that water in mo- tion, when used for irrigation, feeds them better than when stag- nant " Leaves are constantly abstracting from the air the very minute quantities of carbonic acid (and other gases) which it contains. Wlien the air moves quickly over their surface, fresh supplies of that food are incessantly presented to it, and the operation of ab- straction may be much facilitated ; while on the contrary, if the air is stagnant, the absorption of carbonic acid (and other gases) may be much slower. " Perspiration is another vegetable function which must be main- tained in healthy action. The quantity of water that flies off from the surface of a plant will, other things being equal, be determined by the rapidity of the motion of air passing over its surface. " In an absolutely still air, perspiration will be reduced to its min- imum, and it will increase, within certain limits, in proportion to the quickness with which air sweeps over it If the motion of the air is thus favorable to the two great operations of feeding and perspiration, we shall find that it is equally needed, day and night, for inspiration and feeding go on principally by daylight, whilst perspiration or exhalation continue during the hours of darkness. " A good system of aeration must be constantly in action." To make this more clear, it may be well to mention here one of the great vital principles of agriculture. It is generally supposed that, given a good soil, plenty of water, and sunshine, all plants derive the materials for their organic growth directly from the earth. This view is well enough for general pur- poses, but it is by no means strictly true. The vegetable portion of plants — in which is not included the water of their tissues or the mineral matter conveyed by water into the tissues and held there in suspension only to be detected by the ashes resulting from 98 OCTOBER. the complete combustion of any plant — is derived principally from the air. The earth is needed as a place from which to grow, and in and upon which the plant, by means of its roots, may per- form its vital functions ; but the larger part of the structure of the plant is supplied in a mysterious manner by the air. Without delaying for a scientific explanation of the causes and reasons of this wonderful fact, we will consider a few familiar in- stances, which will prove conclusively the truth of the statement. In any of our country towns it is easy to find lands covered with woods, which within the memory of the present generation, have been cultivated till they were worn out ; i.e., so drained of those constituents which plants derive from the earth, that no crop could be got from them that would pay the cost of cultivation. These lands upon being abandoned by man, soon began to grow up in wood, — here and there little Pines or Birches or Cedars started, — and in ten or twenty years the fields were quite covered, and in forty a fair yield of wood could be cut from them. The wood being cut and the land ploughed and cultivated, good crops can be again got for some years. These lands were not manured by any thing but air and water, and yet not only have the trees grown, but their leaves, shed from year to year, have fertilized the soil far beyond the fertility any soil acquires by the slow disintregation of its mineral constituents during a term of years, — an operation analogous to the increase of moneyed capital, which yields an an- nual interest, till ultimately it is doubled and more by the accumu- lation. It may be said that this proves nothing more than that land, which without manure will not yield crops for food, does yet con- tain the elements of vegetable growth necessary to develope the forest. But it will not be said truly. It was stated at the beginning of this treatise, that agricultural operations are not changed in kind but merely in degree, by being conducted on different scales ; so that we may fairly reason from a single plant to whole crops. Now experiments have been carefuUy tried by men distinguished in agricultural science, which have proved conclusively that, be the crop what it may, about three- fourths its vegetable bulk is derived from the air. Pure sand has GREENHOUSE. 99 been confined under glass receivers, and in it seeds have been planted, which have been watered with pure distilled water, no manure being applied, and yet these seeds have germinated and made a very considerable growth of vegetable matter; showing that apart from the stock contained in the seed, the nourishment of the plant was derived from the air. It is not claimed that a healthy vegetation capable of maturing food for animals has been produced under such circumstances, as there are certain chemical elements, not to be found in common air, with which a plant must be supplied, in order to yield food for man ; but simply that such experiments prove both that plants "de- rive a large portion of their substance from the air and water, and should therefore have enough of both, and that the growth of woodland under the circumstances mentioned above, is mainly at- tributable to the food supplied by the air. Another striking illustration of the truth of this position is found in a common agricultural operation : fertilizing land by green crops. Given a piece of land too poor to be worth cultivating ; weigh out the manure you apply, and sow Clover seed ; the Clover will grow for a year or two and cover the land more or less generously ; at the end of the second year plough in the tops and roots, and leaVe them a short time to decay. You will find that the land is perma- nently enriched, so as to yield a remunerative crop if cultivated. If the crop of Clover ploughed in added nothing more than the weight of mafture first applied, plus the material it abstracted from the soil, the subsequent crops would be no greater than if the manure alone had been ploughed in and left, and the farmer would be poorer by the cost of cultivating his Clover ; but the reverse is the result whenever the experiment is tried. Thus it is clear, first, that air is necessary to plants, and full of the elements of organic life ; second, that it must be constantly re- newed and shifted by winds and currents, or else stationary plants would soon exhaust the supply and cease to thrive ; third, that a leading principle of success in plant culture is aeration. Currents of air judiciously admitted, give additional efficiency to the use of the syringe. Syringing washes violently away in- sects and their eggs ; but instinct teaches insects to avoid those 100 OCTOBER. parts of the plant in the Une of usual currents of water, and thus escape. If, however, currents of air strike the plant on various sides, instinct again leads the insects to shun these new currents, and the two fluids, air and water, being applied sometimes together, sometimes apart, both cannot well be avoided. The old method of admitting air by sliding sashes in the top and front of the house, is unfavorable to this general diffusion of air, as the accompanying diagram shows. In this section of a greenhouse the sashes slide at x and a/; the cur- rent admitted at a/ naturally warms a little as it enters, rises and goes out at X, affecting the plants but very little ; as it is cold and rapid, and blows above the warm pipes a, it does not mingle with tie warm air or sink much, but raliier blows across and out at the top. The hot air is blown in the line of the two lower arrows, and goes through and under the staging for plants ; whilst those standing on the table in front, or trained up against the glass feel but little Warmth. Whenever air is admitted, it comes in nearly as cold as the outside atmosphere, strikes the overheated foliage, which it chills rather than cools. Now if our system is followed this can never happen. Again, where air comes as in the preceding diagram, no current really affects the leaves so as to give them the motion described as so beneficial. The truth of this will be seen when we consider the condition of the house before the admission of the outer air. The whole house is warmed so that a thermometer at the level of the eye, shows enough heat to need air. If the tempera- ture is thus high at the level of the eye, what must it be at a, whither all the hot air is tending by natural laws ? to remedy this we admit air at aK ; this serves to cool down the front of the house too much, and only makes the upper part hotter. Open the sash GREENHOUSE. 101 X, and the hot air will rush out for a few minutes until the air at X,' begins to fill the current, when it will no longer sink, the tempera- ture in its neighborhood having been lowered too much to feel any difference between its own weight and that of the entering air. The current however is strong ; it is a draught, and the air comes in at x' and goes out at x, making a curve (a/ x) through the house, giving no aeration, but cooling one part very much without relieving the rest Now observe our plan. In a lean-tp or span-roof house, we carry up a brick wall for 3 feet at least : every 5 feet we open a ventilator between the hot pipes a a; now if the house is too hot, by opening the venti- lators x and 3/, we let a stream of cold air, — not upon the tender foUage, but on the hot pipes, where it is at once wanned, and rises in four di- rections ; perpendicularly by the natural laws of equilib- riimi in fluids, and diagonally by the power of the draught. When the upper sash is opened at c, these different currents converge toward that opening, making currents throughout the house, which from their various directions, must thoroughly search every part of every leaf, and, although gently and almost imperceptibly, yet surely, set all the leaves in motion. The diagram, however, only shows how air m£ty escape by open- ings above, made by sliding or revolving sashes. Revolving sashes are for some reasons the best, for others the worst ; standing at an angle with the roof when open, they are very liable to be broken by the wind ; and yet must often be opened in windy weather. To obvi- ate the need of either sliding or revolving sashes when but a slight current is wanted, or during high winds, the back wall of a lean-to, or the ridge of a span-roofed house should be carried up from 2 to 4 9* 102 OCTOBER. feet above the sashes ; then there should be ventilators, a a, in this wall, above and below the sash, closed by sliding doors ; these may be more or less opened, and will admit air slowly and without danger from high winds. With ventilators thus arranged and of sufficient size, there is no need of sliding or revolving sashes ; the roof may be made whole, and breakage thus avoided. To secure nocturnal ventilation, where the current moves slowly, these ventilators may be slightly opened, or others made as shown in the cut ; a a being closed, open b; the air will enter x' x and creep slowly along in the direction of the arrows. It will take this course because it will constantly cool faster along the walls and the glass than elsewhere, and the 'tvarm air will rise to supply its place. It must be remembered that all the air we propose to supply to these houses is thoroughly warmed by the hot water or steam pipes before it reaches the body of the house, except when admitted through a a, and this entering into the hottest part of the house,, warms before it reaches the plants. Greenhouses and other glass structures built in this manner, with attention to these various details, are more expensive than when built in the old-fashioned way ; and it is true that in the old and ill-arranged houses good plants are grown, and that gardeners are a dogmatic set of men, unwilling to adopt improvements. It is also true that dwelling-houses with unventilated rooms heated by air-tight stoves, allow some children and adults to grow and live and are less costly than houses built with the most improved appa- ratus for heating and ventilating. Cold. — Sometimes very cold nights occur in October (in this latitude), particularly toward the last of the month. Such nights, however, are foretold by the character of the day preceding. It is enough when they are anticipated to put up the shutters and cover GREENHOUSE. 103 the roof with straw matting. Various arrangements are resorted to for covering the glass with straw, cloth, etc. Our plan is as follows : For the front make wooden shutters that will fit accurately between the divisions of the windows. The cut shows the inside of such a shutter made of White Pine and painted boards, and screwed on to two cross strips 4 inches wide, and about 3 inches shorter at each end than the shutter. The appearance of a window without, and of one with this shutter is shown ; c c c, common iron buttons screwed to the window casing a. When you wish to put up the shutter, turn the buttons out of the way, set in the shutter, which must fit tight, and secure it with a turn of the buttons. "During the day these shutters should be piled on the border in front of the house, the lowest resting on pieces of joist that it may not freeze to the ground. To cover the roof expeditiously, another plan is resorted to : take straw matting or sail cloth, in as large pieces as you choose -^ enough to cover the whole roof, if you please ; every 3 feet along one side, insert eyes that will just fit over the b_ heads of spikes or hooks se- cured to the top of the sash just above the gutters ; fasten the opposite side its whole length to a moderately heavy, straight roller. This roller must be heavy enough to de- scend along the roof by its own weight, taking the cloth with it, unless prevented. Into each end of the roller screw a pulley wheel. Car- ry a cord through and over the wheel a, at the ends 104 OCTOBER. of the roller, and back again through a pulley at c, lead it to E, where it passes through another puUey and drops through the roof to /, within the house, where it is fastened. Now suppose the sail rolled up at the eaves of the house a as in diagram ; if you wish to cover the glass, go to / (within), and pull on both the ropes ; you will draw up the roller toward c c, where the ends of the ropes are fastened, unrolling the sail as it rises, and have only to pull equally on both ropes to insure the rising of the roller at an equal rate at both ends. Of course the rope must be secured at/, when the sail is quite unrolled. To uncover the glass, loosen the ropes aty, and let them pass slowly through the hands as the roller descends by its own weight, rolling up the sail as it goes. These protections wiU be enough till the weather becomes decidedly cold. If bad luck overtakes you before the fires are lighted, and the thermometer in the house falls below 32°, be very careful in the morning not to allow the sun to shine on the plants ; keep the shutters and sail-cloth up, and syringe the plants with cold water ; this will take out the frost, and probably prevent any great injury, unless the ccrfd has been sufficiently severe to burst the tissues and sap-vessels, in which case nothing can be done but to cut back the plants, and as it were start afresh. While speaking of the greenhouse in September, I said, in dis- cussing the causes of failure and success, that injudiciously applied heat or moisture are the chief causes of the frequent failures to grow a completely satisfactory collection of plants. Some portions of every greenhouse, however perfect its arrange- ments, will be hotter than others, owing to the way in which it is visited by the sun's rays, or to the natural rise of heated air, or to the location of the hot-water pipes. By ascertaining these places, and judiciously arranging varieties, gardeners might grow hothouse plants in greenhouses with some success, though not sat- isfactorily, for hothouse plants need not only great but steady heat. And in order to provide for the culture of some such plants, although we have no hothouse proper, our greenhouse is so divided •as to allow the heat in one portion to be increased above the tem- t CONSEEVATOKT. 105 perature of the other, and this smaller part will answer all the purposes of a hothouse in fact. Here we have some Orchids, although we make no attempt to grow such a collection of Orchids as need pecuhar treatment and a separate house ; in this part of the greenhouse we start cuttings and stimulate young plants for the greenhouse and conservatory; whilst there are some plants which never leave it. I shall give some lists of plants adapted to the hothouse, con- servatory, and greenhouses, not pretending to give all that may be cultivated, as we have not room enough for a fuE coUectimv, but such as are beautiful and will prove satisfactory if well cultivated. Some of the plants included in this list wiU live in all our glass houses, others in but one or two of them. In the case of plants not usually cultivated, directions are given. Orchids need a great deal of heat in the growing season, with abundance of moisture. Some are air-plants, and need only blocks of wood to grow on ; some should have baskets in which are va- rious rough substances, as bits of peat, stones, charcoal, etc., to nourish and support the roots, but no earth ; others need pit cul- ture ; some will exist in a greenhouse, but all are better situated in the hothouse, and should be grown as hanging-plants. The range of heat, and the respective seasons for maximum and min- imum heat, show how well we can accommodate the varieties included in the list Block, p'ot, or basket. Barkeria Speetabilis. Max. heat, 60° to 65° ; min. 45° to 37°. Growing and blossoming season, January to July. Pot. Cattleya (varieties). Max. heat, 75° to 80° ; min. 55° to 65°. Growing and blossoming season, February to August. Food, the loose fibres of peat, sphagnum, lumps of wood and stone. Pot Caelogyne. Moderate temperature. Ordinary food. Growing and blossoming season, April to October. Pot. Cymbidium. Max. heat, 75° to 80°; min. 55° to 60°. Growing and blossoming season, August to September. Food, twigs, loam, and leaves ; abundant moisture. Basket. Dendrobinm Speciosum. Max. heat, 55° to 65°; min. 45° to 55°. Growing and blossoming season, February to May. Many varieties, needing various treatments ; bears the coolest temperature of any. Basket. Lycaste. Max. heat, 65° to 70° ; min. 55° to 60°. Growing and 106 OCTOBER. blossoming season, February to March. Abundant moisture ; well-drained, peaty soil. Block, pot, or basket. Lselia. Moderate temperature. Growing and blossoming season, November to January. Pot. Mormodes. Max. heat, 70° to 80° ; min. 55° to 60°. Growing and blossoming season, October to November ; food, very rough, fibrous peat, sphagnum, charcoal, well-drained. Pot. Odontoglossum. Max. heat, 65° to 70° ; min. 45° to 50°. _ Grow- ing and blossoming season, September to October. Similar treatment to last. Block. Oncidium. On blocks well syringed ; easily grown in pots ; treat like last; rather cool; well watered when growing; dry at season of rest. Growing and blossoming season, May to August. Pot. Peristeria. Max. heat, 75° to 80° ; min. 55° to 60°. Growing and blossoming season, August to September. Stronger and richer soil ; ample pot room. Pot. Saccolabium ; abundance of heat and moisture when flowering ; at other times dry. Plenty pot room. Growing and blossoming season May to August. Pot. Stanhopea ; moderate temperature. Growing and blossoming sea- son, June to August. Treat like last. Pot. Zygopctalum. Max. heat, 70° to 75° ; min. 65° to 70°. Growing and blossoming season, November to February; light, fibrous soil, well- drained. Such Orchids are easily managed if attention is given to their times of growth and rest, as only at the growing season do they need extra warmth and moisture ; at that time the temperature in the night should never fall more than 10° below that of the day. Their bulbs or roots should never be allowed to remain in a tem- perature much lower than their minimum, even if in a dormant state. If in flower at a season when the sun is very hot and bright, they should be shaded, as the direct i-ays injure the blossom ; it is true they are natives of the tropics, but they grow for the most part in rather shaded spots. The highest degrees of heat show what the temperature must rise to during the flowering season ; the lowest, what it must never fall below. Bulbs. — Bulbs of various species are grea,t ornaments of the green and hothouses, and should generally be started in the latter. To be perfectly successful, they require rather more care than is GEEENHOUSE. 107 generally given. Gardeners generally lay the pots containing bulbs that have gone out of blossom under the table or on their sides, until that time next year when they are to be started again. Bulbs have certain seasons for growth and rest, and they indi- cate the approach of the former by a heightened color and glossi- ness, swelling of the crown and starting at the eyes. The season of rest follows flowering, when the leaves decay and the plant be- comes practically dead for ornamental purposes. At this period they may be kept more cool, but not cold, as all tropical bulbs need a good degree of heat even when dormant ; and they should by no means be laid aside as soon as out of blossom, but should have abundant heat and moisture until the leaves are well matured, and if checked sooner, the bulb suffers. Pots for bulbs should be of different shape from ordinary pots, narrower and deeper, for the bulb roots to descend. A bulb 3 inches in diameter should have a pot 10 inches deep and 5 inches wide at top ; other sizes in the same proportion. The following are good pot bulbs, not including the garden bulbs. Hyacinths, etc., which are great additions to the beauty of the greenhouse, and may be used according to directions yet to be given. Amaryllis, Griffinia, Massonia, Coburghia, Hypoxis, Oxalis, Cyclamen, Iris, Sinningia, Eriospermum, Ixia, Sparaxis, Gesneria, Japan Lily, Strumaria, Gladiolus, Lachenalia, Trichonema, Gloxinia, La Peyrousia, , Tropaeolum. For most bulbs, soil as follows : rich loam, well-rotted cow ma- nure, one-eighth river sand. The compost should be heated just short of combustion, to kill eggs and embryos of worms. Potting as follows : put in drainage material, and cover it with a handful of charcoal ; fill to within about an inch of top with loam, varying the depth according to size of bulb ; sprinkle on a little sand or charcoal dust ; then set in the bulb, and fill in round it with loam. As before said, water but little till the leaves show, tien give more water and heat \ 108 OCTOBER. Some delicate bulbs may be grown in sand mixed with a very little cow dung, stimulated with guano-water. Other plants proper for hothouses will be found in the following list, though some of them may be exhibited in the greenhouse or the conservatory during the time of flowering. The greatest care must be observed in the hot part of our green- house lest we violate natural analogies. It will be proper to shut up this part of the house earlier than the rest, so as to retain more of the sun's heat, and the temperature may now fall lower than at any other season. The months of September, October, and November will be a time of rest, as it were, during which the vines that had grown too luxuriantly, and were cleaned and pruned in August, will ripen. All those plants which showed blossoms in the spring, and which we do not intend shall blossom during the winter, may be kept for the present in the greenhouse, to be brought into the hot- house for forcing as spring approaches. During the present month ventilate well and water sparingly, syringe rarely ; and remember that the ease of oiur future task in managing the plants depends upon keeping them as cool and hardening them as much as possible now. Many gardeners make sad mistakes by keeping the heat too great during all the cold months ; the lower the temperature outside, the higher it is raised inside. All you need is to keep it uniform, and slowly increase it toward spring. It is unnatural for most plants to blossom in the fall, whilst all feel a natural impulse after the turn in the year. Many plants that are native of hot countries need much less heat than some natives of more temperate regions ; the difference depending mainly on their wood, whether it is hard or soft and succulent. Ericas, for instance, came from the Cape of Good Hope, but many or most of them may be allowed to experience several degrees below 32°, whilst other plants from the same coun- try, as Pelargoniums, are destroyed by much less cold. A word here on the treatment of Ericas. They must be brought into flower in the hot part of our greenhouse, but may be kept very cool after flowermg. This family of plants has the reputar GREENHOUSE. 109 tion of being difficult and shy ; but is very easily managed under uniform treatment. The majority of heaths prefer a sterile soil upon dry bottom ; the best material for their compost is dry and weU decomposed peat mixed with sharp sand ; the most vig- orous varieties like an admixture of strong loam. Water in gen- erous quantities is most important to their healthy growth ; rain- water is best, soft weU-water next ; but water containing mineral matter is injurious. In potting, do not make your compost very fine ; it is a common mistake. Early spring, just before the com- mencement of a new growth, is the best time to repot. Shift into considerably larger pots ; for soil, mix largish pieces of turf, say an inch square, with very fine peat and sand, and use the mixture both for potting and shifting. This, if weU drakied, and with a free supply of light, air, and water, will insure good specimen plants. They are readily grown from cuttings, which should be taken in spring. As the Ericas rarely seed, cuttings are the only reliable means of propagation. The proper treatment of their cut- tings is described in an old number of the Gardener's Magazine, by a former gardener at Winship & CIo.'s, as the practice of the Messrs. "Winship at their nurseries, Brighton, Mass. I have condensed the following from his verbose description : " In July if the plant has made a good growth, cut the young shoots off the parent plant, about an inch long, with a sharp pair of scis- sors ; remove the leaves from its lower half; after the leaves are removed, cut its end square close to the joint with a sharp knife, and a quick, clean cut. Prepare a pot, of that size which will best suit your bell-glass, by filling it half full of broken crocks, the rest with fine sharp sand ; water the sand and smooth its surface ; into this set the cuttings, making a hole for them with a sharp-pointed stick. "Water gently, to settle the sand, and cover with the beU- glass. Keep constantly moist. Some kinds will root in three, some in six months, and others in less time. "When rooted, put in thumb pots in sandy peat, or in a compost of decayed leaf mould and one-third sand. Set the pots in coal ashes, in a frame under glass, or on the upper shelves of the greenhouse ; shade during the heat of the day, and keep moist for two or three weeks ; after this, 10 no OCTOBER. cool and harden. According to the habit of the plant is to be the future pruning and culture.,, Plants which need early culture in the hothouse if they are to flower well, are : — Acliimenes, Euphorbia, Mesembranthemum , jEschynanthus, Pranciscea, Moussonia elegans. Aphelandra, Gardenia, Passiflora, Begonia, Gesneria, Pharbitis, Billbergia, Hibiscus, Philibertia, Cactus, Hoya, Poinsettia, Caladium, Ipomea, Por^landia grandiflora, Charianthus coccinus, Ixora, Quisqualis indica, Clerodendrum, Jasminum, Stephanotis, Combretura, Lantana, Strelitzia, Eranthemnm, Mandevilla, Tillandsia. In the greenhouse, as before said, the treatment is to be much more cool and dry than in the hothouse. During this month keep well ventilated in dry weather ; shut up early. The plants which will make a good stock for the greenhouse, and which may be shown in the conservatory when in blossom, beside those already given, are as follows : — Abelia, Abutilon, Adenandra, Amphicome arguta, Anagallis, Actus, Aphelexis, Astelma, Bejaria, Bouvardia, Browallia, Burtonia, Calandrina, Calceolaria, Ceanothus, Clienostomia, Chorozema, Cineraria, Coronilla, Cosmelia, Cuphea, Dielytra, Diplacus, Doliclios lignosus, Erodium incarnatum, Escallonia macrantha, Pabiana incarnata, Puchsia, Gazania, Gnidia, Gorteria, Helichrysum, Iberis semperflorens, Lantana selovii, Lapageria rosea, Lechenaultia, GREENHOUSE. Ill Lobelia, Loddigesia, Mahemia, Malva, Manrandya, Mnraltia, Nierembergia, Pelargoninm, Petunia, Philibertia, Primula, Bhyncospermum jasminoides, Ruellia, varieties, Rnsselia jnncea. Salvia, Tars., Selago, vars., Sphenotoma gracille, Sprengelia incamata, Stadmannia australis, Statice, vars., Stenocarpus cunninghamii, Stylidiam, Sutheriandia fruetescens, Tasmannia, Teopea speciosisimea, Thunbergia, Torenia, Triptilion spinosum, Vaccinum cocinenm, Veronica. Roses in varieties. — Verbenas, Chrysanthemums, Rhododen- drons, Viburnum, Azaleas, Lauristinus, Deutzia, Cytisus, Alyssum, Calystegia, Acacia, Gtenista, Mignonette, GillLflower, Wallflower, Ten-weeks Stocks, Hydrangea, etc. CHAPTER XV. THE CONSERVATORY. The conservatory is to be treated like the greenhouse. Keep it cool, yet above frost. The plants in pots must be watered rather oftener than those in beds. In bright weather syringe fre- quently. The beds of the conservatory are made by raising a border, a a, one foot above the level of the floor ; under the floor drain thor- oughly with 18 inches of loose stones, B, laying under them a drain, d, which will quickly remove superfluous water. As a pre- caution, it would be well to lay a flue or hot-water pipe, c c, through this drainage, which could be connected with the boiler, as there are times in our very cold winters when the earth about the roots of the plants is cooler than the air, and the growth of plants may thus become feeble and spindhng. Many plants very desirable for such beds, but rather belonging in the hothouse, are especially liable to such injury. Over the drainage stones' lay a course of turf, E E, to prevent the loam from washing away; over this fill to within 3 inches of top with rich, light, yellow loam ; after planting, cover the top with a light dressing of good dark loam. No plant should be set in this bed with its roots in the close ball made by pot culture ; they must be opened out. When all is com- plete and the plants set, plant some Lycopodiums, Scdums, etc., among the other plants, to cover the surface with their delicate foliage and make a perfect bed' of green, out of which the other plants shall rise. After arranging the beds and grouping the plants, follow previous directions. 112 JiBom. a, E s fiitejisbifeto^afe 1 B i^^^^^H^m^^^ CONSEKVATORY. 113 RUNNERS FOR POTS AND WALLS OP CONSBRVATOET. Billardiera ovalis, Mimosa prostrata, SmUax, vars., Brachysema, vars., Passiflora, vars., SoUya, vars.. Clematis Convolvulus, Ehyncospermum jasminoides,Swainsonia galegifolia. Jasminum, vars., Eodochiton volubile, Kennedy ia, vars., Roses, Mandevilla suaveolans, Rosteria, Good varieties of Calceolaria, Chrysanthemum, Cineraria, Calystegia, Coronilla, Cnphea, PLANTS FOE BEDS. Heliotrope, Hydrangea, Lantana, Lemon Verbena, Lobelia, Mignonette, Tacsonia, vars., Tropeolum, vars., Zichya, vars. Perpetual Roses', Petunia, Salvia, Steevia, Thnnbergia, Verbenas. PLANTS TO PLACE ON TABLES may be selected from both the cold and hot parts of the green- house. TO GROUP ON THE FLOOR IN POTS. Acacia, Daphne, Magnolia, Agave, Erithronia crista galli Oranges, Azalia, Genista, Pittosporum, Brugmansia, Laurestinus, Poinsettia, Camelia, Lemon, Rhododendrom, etc. Cape Jessamine, It is more diflScult to keep such a conservatory in good condition than ordinary houses, because more is expected of it. It is em- phatically a showhouse, no propagating or cultivating being done, with the exception of the plants in beds. As these last must re- main till worn out, careful attention must be given to secure a good succession of blossoms. The conservatory ought to be during the winter like a vast bouquet, only the more beautiful from the size, which admits of combinations impossible in any bunch of flowers. Where there is a well-arranged greenhouse connected with the estate, it is not very diflScult to keep up a good display ; but without it it is im- 10* 114 OCTOBER. possible, and the so-called conservatory becomes one of the anom- alous glass houses before referred to. The heat must be more decided and constant than in the green- house ; otherwise plants brought from thence full of vigor and blossom will be checked, their flowers will dwindle, the whole plant will become stunted and sickly. To make our conservatory all we have described, we must start the fires earlier than in the other houses, and rely less on the shut- ters and sail-cloth. The number of plants which will make a fine show under glass in October will be less than afterwards. Gilli- flowers, Salvias, Amaranths, the Dwarf and Giant Chrysanthe- mums, and other annuals and perennials, with Roses, Heliotropes, etc.', will make a good show ; the shelves and tables should be filled with these fall flowers, and some may be placed among the groups of evergreens (now out of blossom) on the floor, to brighten them.' CHAPTER XVI. GRAPERY. The retarding-houses must now be more carefully watched than before. Shut up early at night to retain sun warmth, and yet ad- mit air abundantly during bright, sunny days, to keep the temper- ature low. If there should come a period of decidedly cool weather, start a little fire under the boiler ; but delay as long as possible ; give the fruit trees but little water, to ripen the wood. The vines in the forciug-house should now be pruned, as they come into a nearly quiescent state. Before pruning, remove the ripe and ready-to-fall leaves. There are several systems of prun- ing and training vines. When a vine is carried up the whole length of the rafter, its upper end is of course in a better atmosphere than the lower, and consequently tends to ripen its fruit sooner. This would be no disadvantage where the fruit is grown for private use, and a suc- cession is desirable, were it not that the fruit above grows large at the expense of that below, owing to the tendency of the sap to ascend, thus strengthening the upper eyes, and giving them all they can use before it lingers and settles in the lower eyes. To counteract this tendency, various methods are resorted to ; the most common being to take down the vines and lay them in a hor- izontal position, in their dormant season ; there they are kept till all the eyes have " broken " equally, when they are again fastened up to the wires. In this way equality of size is more nearly at- tainedj while difference in temperature gives the desired succession in time of ripening. Where fruit is grown for the market another plan is sometimes followed, which is to carry the main cane up a certain distance, and then bend it as nearly as possible at a right angle, and carry it along the whole length of the house. This of course keeps all 115 116 OCTOBER. the bearing part of the vine ui the same temperature, and insures a nearly uniform supply of sap to all the eyes. But the practice has its disadvantages, such as the unequal length of cane in the different vines before they are bent, and therefore rafter training is usually preferred. The methods of pruning are more various than those of training, and each method has something to recommend it. We practice spur pruning. This being the second year of forcing, and the fourth of the vine's age, it wiU perhaps be well to state the proper method of pruning from the time of planting the vine. The system for the forcing-house and the cold grapery differ a little from the retarding-house. Pruning. — The vine is generally first started in the hotbed, or in the pit in pots, so that it will have attained some length by the time the spring sun has thoroughly warmed the border. Early in June, having the vine in a pot with 3 or 4 feet of top, plant it in the border, and take in the top through the wall opposite the rafter upon which it is to run. The warm, rich border will stimulate to a rapid growth ; allow it to grow without stopping, even after it has reached, the top of the house, when it may be trained along the back wall, pinching off its end a few weeks before cutting back. Pinch off at the first bud any lateral shoots that appear, and all tendrils. When the vine is within a quarter of the whole length of the rafter, begin to prune ; cut out the lower laterals close to the wood, being careful not to injure the bud or eye at the base of the lateral ; and thus continue to cut as the wood ripens. In this diagram A is the main stem of a vine ; a a a a, laterals ; b b, first cut ; c c, second cut. As winter approaches, and the leaves fall from the vine, cut it back to d, three eyes from the bottom. In December paint the vines with a mixture of sulphur and soft soap ; untie them from the wire on the rafter and lay them down on their sides, covering with mats, etc., as a thorough protection against GEAPERT. 117 frost. In the coldest weather some little fire must be kept in the forcing-house, lest frost prevent the early swelling of the buds in the spring. During the earliest months of the year, do not let the sun heat the house, but keep it rather cool till AprU'; then grad- ually uncover the vines. The buds will soon begin to swell, and just as they are breaking, tie up again to the rafter. The vine will now have this appearance. As it begins to grow, all the eyes will push out shoots ; allow the end shoots to grow at will, but pinch off the laterals at the 1 1 second point or eye. The first eye of the lowest lateral' may be allowed to bear a bunch to test the fruit. After these laterals are pinched they wiU break the last eye and start again, and after each pinching they will repeat this process at the bud nearest the end till fall. They must be pinched back every few weeks during the season. When the main branch has reached the top of the house, stop it, and continue to stop each new growth it makes fiwm the leading bud. Nip all the laterals at the first bud, as last year. The diagram shows the appear- ance of the vine after this ; a a a, first lat- erals left as buds last year ; b, new lateral ; c c c, points at which first laterals are again stopped ; d d, first pruning new laterals ; ff, second pruning of same ; e, vine stopped at top of house ; g, final cutting back of vine. In the fall cut back the leader to about one- third its length, and all but the two spurs to the first eye, as last year, leaving the two lower spurs and the eyes above for the next year. Treat through the winter as before. In the spring of the third year the vines will swell their buds in March ; begin heat- ing the house with fire the middle of February, and increase the heat in March ; follow the same system as last year, only you may allow each spur and eye to bear one bunch of grapes. This brings the vines to the fourth year, which is the age of our vines. In October, if the wood is well ripened and the leaves are fall- ing, give the final pruning. Cut back the leaders two-thirds of the INDEX TO GRAPERY. A, Retarding House ; B, Cold Grapery ; C, Foil ing House ; D, Potting Room; E, Boiler; F, Cistern. 6EAPEKT. 119 the border is vaulted ; they may be thoroughly protected from frost, but cannot be warmed to any considerable extent, and are conse- quently less stimulated than the cane and leaves, and do not con- tribute as largely as the latter require. Vines which are to be grown from pots are started from cut- tings — or better, from eyes — which are induced to grow as much as possible the first year, to insure strong plants. When the leaves have all fallen, prune to nine inches in length ; keep them through the winter in some dry place well protected from frost. In Jan- uary or February shift them for the last time into larger pots, — not less than a foot in diameter, — thoroughly drained, and filled with earth well mixed with rather coarse old turf. AUow as many shoots to grow as can conveniently be accommodated in the place where the pot is to stand; some cultivators retain four or five branches, others but one or two ; perhaps one cane is as much as is really judicious. Stop it about five feet long ; as often as it starts afresh, stop it, and pinch ofi" the laterals. In September the plant wiU lose its leaves, and should be pruned to about 3 feet long for a 12 inch pot, 4 or 5 feet for a 15 inch pot, every additional inch in the diameter of the pot allowing an additional half-foot of cane, although the ultimate length must be regulated by the space allowed during forcing. If the plant is to be forced early, set the pot over the flues or pipes late in December. The culture of potted vines wiU be de- scribed at another time. Desceiption of Geapert. — Having explained the practice to be followed in our grapery, I proceed to describe the building itself. Refer to the ground plans and elevations on next leaf, in connection with the description. A B C is the grapery ; A, retarding-house ; B, cold grapery ; C, forcing-house ; D, shed for boilers, etc. ; E, boiler ; F, cistern. The back wall of A is 16 feet high, the front 5 feet high, of which 2^ is solid, 2^ glass, as in the greenhouse ; the building is 12 feet wide. B is 20 feet wide, 6 feet high in front, 14 feet in the middle, 9 feet at the back. C is 12 feet wide, 13 feet high be- hind, 4 feet in front, of which 2 feet is brick, 2 feet glass. The ar- 120 OCTOBEB. rangement for ventilation through the wall at the side and top is the same as in the greenhouse and the conservatory. The back wall of C is 2 feet thick, 6 inches of the distance being an air chamber. The back walls of A and B are 1 foot thick ; all front walls are 1 foot thick ; side walls to glass, 1 foot ; above glass, posts, and win- dow sashes, 6 inches in the rough, worked down enough to look well without losing strength. E, the boiler, will be described hereafter. F, the cistern, collects the water from the roofs ; there is a well in the shed which can force water into the cistern at need. . The heating is done by means of 4 inch iron pipes, which are carried round the inside of the different buildings, just as in the greenhouse, only that the hot water may be carried into either di- vision of the house without warming the rest any more than would be done by one-half the leading and returning pipes through the grapery, as the water is carried either to the forcing or retarding- house. The heat derived from this amount of pipe is not enough to much affect the cold grapery ; it does not do much more than take the chill off the air at those seasons when this part of the house is intended to be dormant. The smoke is carried in a brick flue shown by dots, into a flue which runs under the walk in the cold grapery, through to the far- ther end of the forcing-house, and thence up the chimney. In order to allow the pipes free range about the house, without the extra expense of bends, elbows, etc., the sill of the door is raised so as to be reached either from without or within, by two steps, under which the pipes pass quite out of the way. On all sides of the forcing-house, grapes are planted. The bor- der is at one end and in front, and takes the roots of the vines in those parts of the house ; at the back and the inner end vines are planted in the floor of the grapery, which is a regularly prepared border, and is enriched annually with liquid manure. There is a table on the right of the walk, on which vines in pots are placed for forcing ; and over the whole course of the pipes is a narrow table, on which strawberries and some early vegetables may be forced. The vines are brought into the house through cylindrical, oblique holes, 6 inches in diameter in the front and side walls, just between the foundation and the first course of bricks. The GEAPEBT 121 hot-water pipes axe 1 foot fiom the vines, along the front and back, 6 inches at the ends. Under the middle table is a mushroom bed. The arrangement of the retarding-house is similar; but the front shelves may be used to start hothouse bulbs, and low grow- ing plants for exhibition in the greenhouse and conservatory. The cold grapery has vines along the sides and ends, and one row in the middle near the walk ; but the immediate front is occu- pied by an espalier, on which are grown Cherries, Peaches, Ap- ricots, and Nectarines. It is a very nice matter to heat such a building as this, for it is difficult to calculate how large a boiler, or how many feet of pipes are necessary. A formula is given below by which the necessary calculations can be made. The amount of heating surface of pipes to "be allowed, depends on the number of cubic feet of air which are to be heated per minute, and on the difiference between temperatures within and without. Upon the number of feet of pipes depends the size of the boUer ; and the efficiency of the boiler is determined by its shape, setting, and the distance between the furnace bars. Messrs. Tredgold and Hood, in England, have made the most reliable calculations on this matter, and their directions are accordingly quoted, as follows : — " If," says Mr. Tredgold, " the cubic contents of air to'be heated per minute be multiplied by the number of degrees it is to be warmed, and the result be divided by twice the difference between the temperature of the house and that of the surface of the pipes, the result will be the feet of surface of iron pipe required. " Thus, if 1000 cubic feet per minute are to be warmed, and the extreme case is supposed to be that when the external air is 20°, the house should be warmed (to) 50° ; and therefore the air is warmed 30° ; and with water (within) the surface (of iron pipes which contain water) will be 190° when the water boils, but only 180° in its average state ; therefore, 1000x30 30000 „»„ , „ n „ = 116 feet of surface. ^(180—50) 260 - Mr. Hood gives another formula for ascertaining the number of feet. He says that IJ cubic feet of air must be heated for each 11 122 OCTOBEE. square foot of glass in the building. Multiply 125 by the differ- ence between the proposed maximum temperature within and the temperature without, and divide this product by the difference be- tween the temperature of the pipes (average of surface 180°) and the proposed temperature of the room or house ; then the quo- tient thus obtained, when multiplied by the number of cubic feet to be warmed per minute, and this product divided by 222, will give the number of feet in length of 4 inch pipe, which wUl pro- duce the desired effect. If 3 inch pipe is used, the number of feet of 4 inch pipe must be multiplied by 1.33 ; if 2 inch pipe is used, by 2. -The number of feet of pipe being thus obtained, the correspond- ing boiler surface may be ascertained from a table of proportions given by Hood as follows : — " When the difference in temperature between the pipes and the air to be heated is 140° (pipes 200° —air 60°), Surface of boiler exposed to fire. 4 inch pipe. 3 inch pipe. 2 inch pipe. 3 1-2 square feet will heat 200 266 400 5 1-2 square feet will heat 300 400 600 7 square feet will heat 400 533 800" and so on ; the figures of the 4 inch column being increased one- third to. give those of the 3 inch, and doubled for the 2 inch. " Again, when the difference in temperature is reduced, say to 120° or 100°, a boiler of the same size as above will heat one-sixth and one-third more than when at 140°." A Formula foe Calculating Size of Boiler. — Take the cubical contents of house, and to every 100 feet allow 10 square inches of boiler surface, and 1 square inch of fire grate. Much depends upon the distance between the pipes at their junction with the boiler ; they should not be less than 16 inches from centre to centre of 4 inch pipes. When the boiler is not more than 18 inches deep, it is best to lead the flow pipes from its top, and insert the return pipes as near the bottom as connection can safely be made. The main feeding pipe from the boiler, which has to supply several circulating pipes, should be no larger than they, unless more than 4 pipes are to be GKAPEET. 123 Vertical transverse sectibn of same boiler. served, as the rapidity of the current in the feeding pipe will be in proportion to the demands on it. The forms of boiler are various, and almost every cultivator has his favorite. One of the verybest was exhibited by Weeks & Co. at the Crystal Palace, London. It is a saddle-shaped pipe boiler, — the diagram will explain itself. The fire is made on the lower set of pipes, which serve as fiirnace grates. The return water passes through them, consequently they are always kept below the fus- ing point of coal and iron, so that they never clinker or burn out. A, view of boiler from above ; B, vertical transverse section. The connection between the top and bottom pipes is made at the back in A ; the supply', pipes are led away from the top of the back side ; the cold water is returned at a (A). Those vines in the cold house which are carried from floor to ridge without any support from a sash, may be tieid to a strong wire, fastened below to a post in the earth and above to the ridge. The trellises for vines along the rafters are made thus : At intervals of 4 feet along the under side of the rafter carry out iron rods a few inches long, with an eye at the end ; provide curved strips of iron a foot in length, ^ inch wide, \ inch thick, pierced with three holes, one for each rod. Through the eye of each rod and the middle hole of each strip carry a wire and fasten it above at the top of the glass and below near the entrance of the vine stem. A wire of the same length is to pass through the side holes on each side of the first, and fasten as that was. You have now a trellis in front of the rafter along its whole length, which may be taken down very easily if the feyed rods are so put up as to be quickly detached. The espaliers for fruit trees are curved back enough to spread 124 OCTOBER. the branches well out to the light. Fruit grown in a cold grapery will not be forced very much out of season, but may be expected from a month to six weeks before that grown in the open ground is ripe, and has besides the advantage of being thoroughly pro- tected from insects, if properly cared for. The patterns of espaliers differ nearly as much as those of boil- ers. The cut shows a very good kind. The tree being grown with a single stem till it reaches the top, when branches are allowed to develop, and are trained down over the sides, thus getting, besides a thorough spreading out to the sun, the advantage of the delay of sap, and consequent formation of fniit buds "" in the place of the leaves which preponder- ate in more vertical branches. When fruit trees are cultivated in a grapery where vines are planted in the floor and fed from the bed there prepared, the roots of the treefe should be confined by borders of slate or other mate- rial within certain limits ; their soil must be prepared for them, and when it is exhausted must be renewed, or Hquid manure must be supplied. Geape Boedees. — The only part of the grapery yet unde- scribed is the borders, which in the estimation of most cultivators are the very foundation of all success, — the alphabet of grape cul- ture. From the many minute directions given I quote the advice of J. F. Allen, of Salem, already referred to. •Some of the very best English cultivators of the present day are of the opinion that thorough draining at the bottom, and subse- quent filling with the best of loam, is aU that any grape border needs, and that the future stimulation and growth of the vines is to be effected by copious supplies of liquid manure. This course is rational, cheap, and in accordance with the views I have al- ready expressed. Mr. Allen's directions are as follows : — " The border should be 20 to 30 feet wide ; if but 12 feet can be had, the vines must be set farther apart. If the soil is a good loam, begin at one end and GEAPERT. 125 trench it : mai-k off 10 feet the entire width ; throw out the soil 2 feet deep ; if bones or the carcasses of animals can be had, cover the bottom well with them ; if these are not readily procured, slaughter-hoiise manure may be substituted. Mark off 10 feet more of the border, and cover this manure with part of the soil from it. Upon this put an inch or two of oyster shells or old lime rubbish mixed with broken bricks ; over this put some soil from the border, then a good covering of cow manure, upon this a •slight covering of loam again, followed with a good portion of oyster shells or the substitute, and over this a thick covering of stable manure well rotted ; finish with a thick covering of loam. The whole length is to be made in this manner, in alternate spaces of 10 feet each trenching. After it is finished, the border should be 3 feet 6 inches deep; it will settle to less than 3 feet in a few months. The proportions recommended for this border are -J loam, ^ bones or other strong manure, ^ oyster shells or lime and brick rubbish, ^ rotten stable manure. " before planting the vines the border should be spaded over to mis well the top substances, being careful not to disturb the strong manures at the bottom, as 'these substances when decomposing would destroy any of the roots of the vine with which they came in contact. Should the soil be poor, decrease the proportion of loam and increase the manure, and use the top soil of a loamy pasture. If the soil is very poor and unsuitable, use the following compost : -J top soil of old pasture, ^ bones, ^ oyster shells, ^ rot- ted manure ; throw these materials together and leave them till decomposed ; then throw loosely into the trench. Those of my borders which have the most slaughter-house manure and offal continue as they ever have to produce the best fruit." Very few situations in this country need other drainage than loose stones. 11* CHAPTER XVn. FLOWER-GAEDEN. If the bulbs were planted last month, there will be eomparar lively little to do in the flower-garden. All beds which are nearly emptied of their annuals and bedding plants, should be manured and dug over. Wherever enough flowers are left to make a pleasant show, pains should be taken to preserve them as long as the frost will allow. During this month the flower-garden must depend principally on Verbfenas, some perennials, Giha, Alyssum, Candy-tuft, Migno- nette, Giant and Dwarf Chrysanthemums, of which the variety is so great, that with a little care in selecting colors, the summer flow- ers will hardly be missed. Some late flowering bulbous roots, if sheltered at night, will still be in blpssom, as Tuberoses and the other autumnal bulbs. The monthly Eoses in the Rosary will continue in blossom tiU winter, and in the shrubbery, the St. Johnswort, Cinque-foil, Tam- arisk, Daphne, and Wigeha AmabUis, together with the White Snowberry, Scarlet Winter Green, parti-colored Euonymus, red- leaved and redder berried Barberry, and the black berries of the Privet, will help to disguise the rapid approach of winter. Any bulbs not planted must be got jn as soon as possible. The peren- nials now claim attention, and the borders and beds not devoted to bulbs and bedding plants, should be stocked with a good variety of them. The beds in front of the conservatory, and those in the middle of the garden, should depend entirely on annual planting of bedding plants, bulbs, and flowers from seeds, which are certain to give a satisfactory bloom ; besides, it is desirable that the flowers here should be of -a low habit of growth, sure not to exceed a cer- tain size ; and we obtain this desideratum by using Verbenas, He- liotropes, Salvias, etc., with which we may secure just the effects 126 FLOWER-GARDEN. 127 we fancy, assured that one part of the bed will not overtop the others. Inthe border beds this is of no consequence. They back upon hedges and shrubbery, and do not depend entirely on their own beauty of color, form, etc., for the gratification they can give ; the eye will certainly wander over them to the hedge or shrubs beyond, and will blend aU. into one agreeable or disagreeable whole. Were all the plants in these borders of a uniform size, they would lose the charm of variety and grace ; but by mingling different perennials, annuals, and greenhouse plants, their effect in connec- tion with the. shrubbery, is the most charming that can be imagined. Perennials as a class are more satisfactory than any other flow- ering plants, for when once planted they are no trouble for years, beyond digging over the beds and occasionally cutting down the stools to reduce them to a convenient size. If the varieties are well selected, they will give some flowers during every month from April to October, one variety coming forward as another goes to seed. The following list gives the names of a few varie- ties for each month, with the height of the flower stems just before they blossom : — Name. Month. Early or late. Size. Color. Anemone, double and single, May, early, 6 in. pink. Thalictrum Ane- luanoides, it it 6 in. white. TJvularia (Bell- wort), tt late, 1 ft. yellow. Solomon's Seal, tf tt it white. TroUius Euro- peus. tt tt te yellow. Columbines, tt It it variety. Saxifrage, te early, 1 1-2 ft. white. Pedicnlaris, " late. 1 ft. variegated. Violets, tt early, 6 in. several. Moss Pink (Phlox), tt tt 3 in. variety. Polemoninm Rep- tans, tt late. " blue. Primula, ee tt I ft. yellow, red Corydalis, te early. 6 in. red. 128 OCTOBER. Name. Dialytra, Pulmonaria, Peony, Dog-tooth Violet, Delphinium, Hellebore, Double- Butter- cups, Lysimachia Num- mularia, Lily of the Valley, Iris, Double Ragged Robin, Houstonia, Pentstemon Ora- ta and Atropu- reus, Soapwort, Hairy Phlox, Purple Lupine, Peony, Double White Rocket, Phlox, varieties, Scarlet Poppy, Blackberry Lily, Yellow Lily, Canadian Lily, Yellow Day Lily, Double Larkspur, Crane's Bill, Cucumber Root, Senecio Aurea, Spirea (sorts). Garden Pinks, Polemouuim, Campanula sorts. Antirrhinum, sorts. Lychnis, Vervain, Month. May, June, Early or late. early, late, early, late, early, Size. 1 ft. 6 in. 1 to 2 ft. 3 in. 18 in. 1 ft. 6 in. Color. pink. purple. red, white. yellow. blue. white, blue. yellow. late. I in. yellow. late, 3 in. white. whole month. various. all colors. late. 1 ft. red. early, 3 in. blue, white. . late. 2 ft. yellow, purple. early, 1 ft. red. late. 6 in. red. whole month. various, tt many. tt early, 1 ft. white. whole month. various. several. early, . 6 in. red. tt 1 1-2 ft. yellow. tt 2 ft. tt tt 6 in. red. late. 1 ft. yellow, blue, white. early, " purple. tt 6 in. white. tt 1 ft. yellow. whole month. various. all colors. early. 1ft. pink. early, 3 in. white, blue. whole month, tt 1 ft. tt tt tt variety. late. 1 ft. red. early. 1 1-2 ft. blue, purple. PLOWEE-GAKDEN. 129 Name. Month. Early or late. Size. Color. Aconite, June, early. 1 1-2 ft. blue, white, purple. Perennial Flax, ti (( 1 6 in. glorious blue. Evening Primrose, " tt 1 ft. yellow. Indian Hemp, it tt tt white, pink. Spiderwort, ti whole month. " white, blue. Asphodel, [( late, 2 ft. white. Fi-axinella, July, whole month, " white, blue. Penstemon, " early. 1 ft. white. Monarda, " late, 1 to 3 ft. red, purple. Evening Primrose, horse manure ; into this brick put a small piece of spawn ; lay the brick in a warm place, and in a short tiipe it will be fiiU of spawn. " Spawn " is the white radicles of the mush- room plant, which may often be seen in the earth of old pastures, where horse droppings have dried. There are many varieties of fungus that are edible, a few that are poisonous ; the rest are disagreeable rather than injurious. The " gills " of a fungus are the thin leaves seen when it is turned over, fiUing the concavity of the lid with their paper-like lobes, which radiate as the sticks of an open umbrella. Their color varies with the variety of fungus, being pink in the Mush- room. In gathering Mushrooms, be careful to twist them off in the 136 OCTOBER. ground at the root, for if any of the stem is left it will decay and fill with maggots, whi-ch will destroy the other Mushrooms as they begin to grow. Beds may be made by raising a wedge-shaped pile of well- trampled and rich manure ; leave it till it heats ; by inserting sticks into different parts of the pile, and testing their heat when with- drawn, you may learn the temperature of the bed. Cover it with loam, and in that plant spawn ; cover all with straw. Keep thor- oughly moist, and in a few days the spawn will fill the loam, and the Mushrooms begin to grow, and they will continue to appear for six months or a year. Examine the bed frequently, to gather the fungi, and prevent their over-growth and decay, and the conse- quent incoming of maggots. If the bed yields more than enough for daily use, make catchup. So few Mushrooms are grown for our market that we may be said to know nothing of them. Many market gardeners near London have several acres at a time in different stages of growth ; and before leaving the subject I will quote the method of cultiva- ,tion followed by, such gardeners, it being very successful: — " The essential points to be regarded are : proper material, good spawn, moderate temperature, uniformity of humidity according to the state of the beds or crop, — as while the spawn is running, and until it is desirable that the crop shall appear, they can hardly be kept too dry. Afterwards they require a greater amount of moist- ure, and this, particularly during the winter, in a tepid state. Darkness has by some been deemed essential, but experience has shown that larger, better colored, and more healthy Mushrooms are grown in the light. London market gardeners cart home from London stables long manure ; the short material is shaken out of it, and the long, stringy part is kept for covering, as well as for forming the interior of the ridges. The manure is not allowed to heat before it is put into the beds, if it can be prevented, for pre- viously heated material does not produce so fine Mushrooms ; the fresher the horse dung is, the longer will the crop last. If this is properly attended to, it does not signify what kind of mould is used for surfacing the beds. The short manure is to be piled in wedge-shaped ridges, or flat, square beds, the shape being a matter KITCHEN-GAEDEN. 137 of fanoy so long as provision is made for the rapid removal of rain water ; the middle of the bed, varying in size according to the ultimate size of the bed, is made of the long and coarse strawy manure, which, as we have just said, is covered thickly with the short manure, and this again with loam. "When the interior tem- perature of the beds gets down to 80°, they are spawned with pieces of spawn about two inches square, placed one foot apart ; the bed is then covered with earth two inches thick, which is to be well packed with the feet or a spade, then carefully watered. The more compact the bed, the better the Mushrooms ; compactness, and green, unheated manure constituting the secret of successful Mushroom growing. Beds made in this way ought to be watered but rarely, if the weather is reasonably moist, and when watered, if possible, use liquid manure. " Cover the ridges, after making, with straw or mats, and examine frequently ; when well made they wiU bear abundantly for two or three months." Constant reference has been made to artificial spawn. It may be made in the following manner : gather horse droppings, sheep or deer dung, and lay in a dry place ; then chop in a hay cutter straw or fern leaves ; — not a large quantity, but enough when mixed with the manure and clay or loam to give the mass consist- ency; — mix together the manure, stubble, and clay or loanf till the mass is about as pasty as grafting clay ; spread the mixture evenly over a warm floor, to the depth of three or four inches. When abdilt half dry, cut it into bricks of a convenient size ; let the bricks dry a little more, and then make holes an inch deep into their upper ends, into which put pieces of spawn the size of a walnut ; now cover the holes with more of the mixed material. The bricks being prepared, pile them in small stacks against each other, and cover with fresh, hot manure, putting on enough to keep the temperature of the mass at 50° to 60° degrees, too much heat or cold being fatal to Mushrooms. In a few days the spawn will have run through the bricks in all directions, making the stack a mass of spawn. Now open the stack, take down the bricks and lay them in a warm and dry place ; here they may be kept for years as a supply for forming Mushroom beds. 12* 138 OCTOBER. If you have not spawn to begin with, collect from cattle on dry food 2 parts cow dung, 1 part horse droppings, 1 part sheep, deer, or pigeon dung ; dry under cover, and break them till they will pass through a half-inch sieve ; mix all together, and lay the mass closely packed and trodden in a conical heap ; keep the tempera- ture at about 60°, by coverings of litter, mats, or manure. In about four weeks the spawn will begin to form, and in a short time the heap will be filled with it This spawn may be kept a long time in a dry place, or may be made into bricks as just described. I have gone thus fully into the method of producing i this escu- lent, because it is so easily grown, and is capable of so many uses in its simple form or in catchup. Few persons are aware of the profit attendant on its culture, or how completely the grower may convert it into a salable form by making catchup. Espaliered trees are to be treated as they were last month, the fruit being carefully gathered and disposed of. You can begin to prune as soon as the leaves fall. During the month be sure to select and store all the seeds not yet gathered for spring planting. Whenever a crop is removed, dig the ground over and leave it rough and unraked, that the frosts of winter may mellow it and kill the eggs of insects and the seeds of weeds. Cut down all decayed stems and branches of the herbs, culinary or medicinal, — all the half-shrubby kinds to the old wood ; the herbaceous perennials, like Rue, Sweet Marjorum, etc., t(^the ground. If the beds are old, spread and dig in carefully a light dressing of manure well rotted ; where they are too much covered to admit of this, dig up the alleys and scatter some of the loam over the beds, together with a top dressing of light manure. Well-rooted plants of all the herbaceous and half-shrubby herbs may be planted early in the month in beds, borders, or rows, care being taken to enrich these beds, etc., well, before planting. Beds of Horseradish may be made by planting small pieces of the root of old plants. Peas sowed in the last of October and November will come up in the spring, ten days earlier than if sowed in the spring, but not so KITCHEN-GARDEN. 139 thickly ; as an extra early crop it is worth while to plant some. Pot, the first of October, strawberries for forcing, and if they start well give a shift by the last of the month. Remove figs in tubs to the cellar or shed, and cover at night those which are standards or are on the espalier. They will not need covering with earth before November. CHAPTER XIX. OECHAED. The fruits which demand attention this month are Apples, Pears, Quinces, and Walnuts. I will first give directions for har- vesting the Apples. The first of the month, overhaul the stock of barrels, and if the number is deficient, purchase more at once ; be sure that there are enough heads and hoops. When all is ready, begin to gather the fruit as soon as ripe, and by no means wait till hard frosts set in ; the slightest skin of ice upon standing water should stimulate to the greatest exertions. It is very true that the leaves of the trees protect the fruit against frost, but it is not all protected in this way, and if frozen, however slightly, it is likely to decay very rapidly. Apples when ripe readily come off in the hand if gently turned round, and should be left on the tree until they will do so, unless the near approach of winter renders immediate gathering necessary. When the fruit is ready for picking, carry ladders of different lengths into the orchard, so as to prevent any necessity for beating or shaking off the fruit. Clear some place on the ground large enough for a heap which would fill several barrels; cover this space with dry straw or old hay. Fasten a hook of iron or wood to the handle of each basket, that it may be hung on the tree or ladder, so as to leave both hands free. Let your pickers under- stand that it is a fixed law that every apple, small or large, is to be picked by hand. Every basket as it is filled, must be carefully emptied at the appointed place, by being laid on its side and slowly turned, that no apple may be bruised. It facilitates this labor and in- sures greater care in handling, to have one person with an extra bas- ket constantly employed in exchanging the full baskets of the pick- ers for empty ones. When one pile of fruit is large enough, make another. There will probably be a small portion of the fruit which 140 OECHABD. 141 cannot be reached by the . hand ; this must be shaken down after the hand-gathering, is ; done, piled separately, and used or sold as soon as possible. When the day's work is drawing to a close, cover the heaps with straw, hay, or hay covers, for the night, and do the same on wet days. Leave the fruit for several days, according to the weather, to cool and dry. When dried enough, liave the barrels carried into the field and the Apples put into them by hand, carefully sorted, according to quality. Let one man fill the barrels as full as possible without crowding, and lay on the heads, which another person should fasten in firmly. When this is done, the carts are to be sent out, and the barrels lifted into them. Roll them as little as possible ; carry them into the fruit room, where they may stand on end or be piled on each other. If they must be left out through the night, or in wet weather, lay them on their sides, and pile them up so as to shed rain, and cover the upper ones with boards. These directions may seem unnecessarily minute, but the common method of picking all that can be easily reached and shaking ofi" the rest, heaping all together into barrels without any care, except to have a show of good ones at each end, though it may seem easier than that which I have described, wiU be found in the end not only less thorough, but far less profitable. For when the Apples are gath- ered and housed, nearly all the expense is over, and is the same whether the work has been well or iU done. The carefully picked, assorted, and packed fruit will keep till late in the spring, at no extra cost, and will then be worth several dollars a barrel more than in the autumn ; whilst the Apples carelessly harvested not only wiU not keep till spring, but will command, an inferior price when sold. Li all marketed produce, appearance has a great influence on the sale.' Even roots which are clean and neatly loaded and packed, will sell better than roots of the same quality put up in a slovenly manner. It is natural to suppose that extra care in pack- ing would not be given unless the articles were worth it ; and a pur- chaser decides accordingly. So that the small difference in trouble necessary to assort and barrel apples with care, often makes all the difference between a /awc^price and the ordinary one, in selling them. 142 OCTOBER. The varieties of Apples in our orchard are the following : Bald- win, Rhode-Island Greenings, Roxbury, Hunt, and Golden Rus- sets, Northern Spy, Belle Fleur, Danvers Winter Sweeting, Hubardston Nonsuch, Newton Pippin, Pearmain, Red Gilliflower, Ladies' Sweeting, Spitzenberg, Wine Apple ; of these, Baldwin, Greenmg, the Russets, Northern Spy, Belle Fleur, Newton Pip- pin, and Ladies' Sweeting keep till very late in the spring. Tar trees to catch canker worms, as hereafter described ; con- tinue to tar till winter. Peaks. — Pears must be gathered about the same time as Ap- ples, and their fitness for harvesting is to be decided in the same way ; pick into baskets and carry at once into the fruit room, where they may be laid, either in heaps, to be afterwards distributed ac- cording to variety, or on the shelves in the same way once for all. If they are to lie on the shelves till consumed, lay them just so near each other as not to touch. Those laid in heaps may be left for a day to dry and cool, and' then packed away for winter. Divers plans for preserving fruit have been invented, and some very expensive fruit rooms have been made, warranted to keep Pears perfect tiU spring; but the cheapest and simplest method has proved the best. One objection to all fruit rooms has been that fruit stored in them tiU spring has been very apt to shrivel, and never become high-colored ; but the following method avoids this evil : — Pack either in champagne baskets or in light, wooden buckets with tight covers ; Hingham buckets they are caUed in and about Boston. If the baskets are used, place the fruit in layers, with one thickness of flannel or cotton batting between the layers, till the basket is full ; then place it on a shelf and leave it untouched tUl the fruit ought to be nearly ripe. If your experience has not taught you when this is to be expected, you must examine occa- sionally. Pears thus preserved will gain in plumpness, and as they ripen each variety will attain the richest color of which it is capable. If the buckets are used, proceed as with baskets till they are full ; then set them aside, uncovered, for a few days, to cool and sweat, after which cover tight and hang up in the fruit room. ORCHAKD. 143 These. Pears will command the very highest price in the market, and many varieties which almost never attain a high color under other methods, will in this way become really rich. No fruit is more widely cultivated than the Pear, and the num- ber of varieties is great ; only a few, however, pay for cultivation ; and what the desirable varieties are, it is hard to learn, so greatly is their flavor influenced by soil and exposure, even within the limits of a town. It may be said with truth, that no two cultiva-: tors agree as to the best dozen varieties for a given latitude. In a future month I shall discuss the differences in Pears, and explain the respective advantages of Quince and Pear stocks, and the treat- ment requisite to produce the best fruit fiwm either stock. Our Pear orchard is planted with Bartlett, Beurre de Capiu- ment, Beurr^ Bosc, Beurr^ diel, Dix, Duchess, Flemish Beauty, Fondante d'Automne, Louise bonn^ de Jersey, Napoleon, Eostiezer, Sieulle, Seckel, Urbaniste, Beurr^ D'Aremberg, Easter Beurrd, Chaumontel, Glout Morceau, Passe Colmar, Winter NeMs, Beurr4 de Bantz, St Germain. Quinces. — Quinces are not so generally cultivated as they de- serve ; the bush occupies but little room, and that the least desira- ble, is hardy, a superior desert fruit, and generally certain to bear a good crop. The Apple or Orange Quince is the only variety worth cultivating. The mature tree ought to yield from 2 to 4 bushels of fruit, which when well harvested is rarely worth less than $1.00 to $2.50 per bushel, thus giving a large profit for the small surface under cultivation. They may be set 8 to 10 feet apart, and will soon cover the ground so as to keep down weeds, and render the labor of cultivating slight. They have a decided enemy in the borer, and must in their early years be closely watched ; if during the first few years the borers are hunted out and kiUed, and the earth around the bushes be covered with coal ashes, they become thrifty and able to defy the borer in future ; if the but of the tree is surrounded with common tea or sheet lead for a few inches above and below the surface of the ground, the borer will be effectually excluded. No fruit is more easily injured in its appearance by careless 144 OCTOBER. harvesting than the Quince ; every bruise on its skin is followed by discoloration and decay, and consequently by sloW sale in mar- liet. Pick by hand and lay in the basket ; remove thence by hand into barrels, and afterwards treat like Apples. Walnuts. — Walnuts and Shagbarks ripen this month and should be gathered as they fall. After a sharp frost at night, the ground will be covered with them, and we must wait for the frost to open the outside shell and let us at the nut ; the Black or Eng- lish Walnut is surrounded by a thick and spongy husk or shell, which is very hard to remove by hand, as it clings closely and stains the skin badly, but it yields readily to frost. The husk of the Butternut is thin and clings closely to the nut. All these nuts when gathered should be carried to a warm place, and there spread out to dry ; when well dried, the kernel is oily but rich in flavor. Nut trees of these last two varieties are easily and rapidly grown, and though not so beautiful as the Shagbark, are yet very orna- mental, and a few should be cultivated on every even small estate. The Shagbark is the staple nut of .the Eastern United States, and the tree is one of the most ornamental of the deciduous trees, and easily transplanted when young, though it does not bear mov- ing well after it becomes large. CHAPTER XX. NUESEET. In October the nursery demands a large share of attention. Trench now wherever you did not in September, and then plant stocks for budding and grafting. Make layers of Eoses, Honey- suckles, and those shrubs which propagate more easily by layers than by seed. As a general rule seeds are the most reliable means for getting larger quantities and varieties of trees, though the process is slow. Many seeds are hard and tough in themselves, or are en- closed in some kind of tough shell or stone. Such seeds should always be planted in the fall, and left through the winter and spring to the action' of frost, which by its expansive power breaks or dis- joints their hard covering, and lets the tender germ and radicle start on their upward and downward journey. Time and again cultivators have been utterly discouraged in their attempts to grow varieties of plants, because the seed seemed invariably to fail. Much of this failure is owing to the seed hav- ing been planted at the wrong season ; the seed of Roses, Haw- thorn, and Buckthorn, for hedge plants, if sown in the fall will start in the spring, and make strong growth during the summer ; but if planted in the spring they often do not appear tiU the next year, and the nursery man, finding no growth from his seed during the first summer, concludes that it was worthless, and probably digs the land over and plants other seeds of the same kind ; when, had he planted the fall before, or waited till the next year, he would have succeeded with his first lot of seeds. The stones of Plums and Peaches, and other hard seeds, must either be planted in the fall, or be cracked and planted in the spring; cracking the stone is rather dangerous, as it is very apt to injure the germ of the kernel. Walnuts, Shagbarks, Filberts, and most 13 145 146 OCTOBER. Other nuts are subject to tlie same laws of planting and germina- tion. Acorns, Chestnuts, and Horsechestnuts grow whether planted in spring or fall, their shells being so soft as to offer but little op- position to the swelling kernel ; but they do better when planted in fall, for all seeds are more ready to germinate when first ripe than after being kept for some time and getting somewhat dry. You may .see in your autumnal walks in the woods Acorns sprout- ing under all the Oak trees, even when merely lying on the surface of the ground. This natural process teaches us what to do if we would be perfectly successful with such nuts. Keep them in a box tiU spring, covered with moist sand, and soak them twenty-four hours in tepid water before planting. Directions for forming nurseries, seed-beds, etc., will be given hereafter. Autumn has as great advantages over spring for layering hard- wooded plants and shrubs as for planting nuts ; the tongue and cut of the layer heal and granulate somewhat during the winter, and the whole skin and wood seem to prepare for a ready growth in spring. Canker worms will begin to .run after the first hard frost, and the tvees must be tarred to protect them. CHAPTER XXI, THE FARM. October is a very busy montli on the farm. Continue to make and clean out drains, and prepare for thorough irrigation. At every leisure moment draw muck and litter to the yard for ma- nure. During the latter half of the month dig the Roots, beginning with Potatoes, then Beets, then Carrots, last Ruta-Bagas and Tur- nips ; the latter may even be left till November. There is a machine for cutting off the leaves of Carrots and Ruta-Bagas as they stand in the ground. Directions were given last month for Potatoes and are good now. When ready to harvest other Roots, begin as soon as the dew is off, in a bright day, puU them out and lay them on the surface to dry. A tool much like ai spade cleft into four fingers is very convenient for raising roots, as it does not break them like a spade, and its blades are not pointed like those of a dungfork. Beets should be drawn without first cutting the leaves ; lay them on the ground long enough to dry off surface moisture, then gather into heaps ; twist off the tops, and cut off the tails and small roots with a sharp tool. Some English writers recommend that this last process be done as the roots are drawn. Our farmers find that the leaves are readily eaten by cows for green fodder, and when judiciously fed out conduce to a fuU milkpail. To top and tail properly, hold the Beet or Ruta-Baga in the left hand, and in the right a tool made from an old sickle or grass cutter ground sharp ; one blow will remove the top, another the tail of the root, which is then thrown into the heap or the cart. When the weather promises to be fine and dry, it is well to leave them in heaps for a few days before storing, as they sweat a little, and wiU keep the better for the drying. 147 148 OCTOBER. la harvesting Mangel "Wurzel, also, twist oflf the leaves. When the Boots are all thrown into the cart, drive the full load into the root cellar, where they may be piled in their proper bins. While emptying or filling the cart, do not throw the Roots about more than is absolutely necessary, for although rough and harsh to look at or handle, they decay faster for every bruise. The cellar should be well ventilated and drained. The perfect preservation of Eoots depends mainly bn these two requirements. Darkness is hot so essential as is sometimes asserted. Light does not necessarily stimulate growth, nor darkness prevent it ; it de- pends much more on warmth and moisture. Until the nights become very cold leave the windows open, as the exhaling warmth of the Roots will keep the temperature high in the cellar long after it freezes outside. Root cellars are very important in our latitude, and in making them their location should be carefully considered in relation to the, barn. We grow Roots to feed to stock through the winter, and the greater the daily distance over which this bulky material is .carried in feeding, the greater our labor, the less our profit. AU new barns should be buUt with a reference to the storage and transport of Root crops. A good plan is to have the stalls for cows and other neat cattle in the cellar, if removed from the manure, as it is easier, to feed with Hay from above, and with Roots from the same level with the cattle ; but it is then more difficult to dispose of the ma- nure. By carefully considering all these wants before erecting a barn, we can provide for them all in the most convenient and sat- isfactory way. Refer to the ground plan of our barn and see how this is done. Barn. — The general (see March) plan shows that it stands on a sjde-hill. The slope of hill from end to end is 12 feet in 100, so that much of the cellar is above ground. It is divided into two stories, and one story of wood rises over it. The lower, the manure cellar, in which are kept the hens and pigs, is 6^ feet high. The next story is for | of its length 71 feet high ; the remaining 20 feet being 6^ feet in height, is at the extreme west end, and is devoted to Roots, of which it can hold at least six thousand bushels, its area THE FARM. 149 being 50 x 20 feet. Directly in front of the root cellar is a carriage- way 10 feet wide, extending from one side of the bam to the other. Loaded teams may thus enter at one side and leave at the other. Two large sliding doors 10 feet wide give entrance to the root cellar, so that a cart full of Roots having entered by the road-way may be backed into the root cellar and there unloaded. Through the waU in the middle of the root cellar is an aperture which may be kept tightly closed by a flap-door, through which is laid a railroad that is traversed by a small car. This car being taken into the cellar and there loaded with Roots, whole or cut, may then be drawn out along the raih-oad, which extends down the centre of the bam, and its load distributed on either side as wanted, or carried to the boiler. "When the car comes out or goes in, the flap-door is let fall and the aperture is closed. The car may be stopped in front of the mash-tub, and there have meal mixed with the Roots, or take in cut feed, and then run out, and its contents be distributed. Such* an arrangement tends greatly to the economy of labor, and also saves material and wear and tear. In the south-east comer of the root cellar is a wooden box through which the manure of the carriage horses in the stable . above may be discharged into the lowest cellar. Under the front edge of the root cellar are spouts for emptying swill, etc., to the pigs. A boiler is set in the comer of the meal storeroom for cooking food, and the car can be run directly to it. Li speaking of topping Roots, I said that the tops should be fed out to milch cows ; this does not apply to all Roots ; for instance, Rutar Bagas, leaves of which some cows will not eat, and which if eaten in large quantities generally loosen the bowels overmuch ; if but a small quantity is fed at a time, there is no danger, and an in- crease of milk. Again, cattle will often utterly refuse to eat the tops of Carrots and Parsnips, while sheep eat them readily. Under all circumstances, however, it is better to carry the loads, tops and all, directly to the bam, and top as you unload. Such leaves as the stock will not consume, may then be thrown through the muck-traps in the floor, shown in the plan, into the manure cellar, where the pigs will eat some and make manure of the rest. 13* 150 OCTOBEE. I have said nothing of Potato tops, which are usually dry be- fore the Potatoes are dug; in this condition they are called " haulm," and may be collected into heaps to rot, or carted to the manure cellar as bedding for pigs, or burned, and their ashes spread on the spot. The Corn crop is to be harvested now. If not cut during' Sep- tember, send your men into the field early in the present month, with tools made from old scythes, or reaping-hooks, to cut it all about 6 inches above the ground, leaving one hill in six uncut. As cut, lay each hill on ' the ground by itself during the heat of the day. Early in the afternoon begin and gather five hills ; stand them on their butts about the uncut sixth hill, which will steady the whole ; this being done, draw all the tops down a little, and tie firmly together with a straw rope. You will thus stack the whole firmly, and may leave it for weeks without injury from weather. The outer leaves will wither down, and as they dry will offer a perfect water-shed to the rain ; whilst the bulk of the stack is not so great as to prevent the ready access of sun and air in fair weather. Corn thus stacked will ripen thoroughly, dry hard and glossy, and the stover will cure into a sweet and good fodder, which will be eaten almost to the last but by cows during winter, particularly if first cut in a stubble cutter. AU corn-fodder should be cut up before feeding, to insure the thorough decay of those portions which the cattle may reject, and which are consequently thrown into the manure heap. Were it fed out in its long state, the cattle would pick off the leaves and reject the buts, which must then be thrown into the manure heap, where they will remain undecomposed for a year, their glossy, fiinty exterior defending them from fermenta- tion and the action of the various acids and gasses generated in the manure. Many farmers practise a different treatment of the Corn crop ; and I will deviate from the rule laid down at the beginning of this book, to make a short inquiry into the relative merits of the two methods. It is the practice of most New-England farmers to go into the field as soon as the Com is glazed, and top it ; i.e., cut off the tops THE FAEM. 151 just above the highest ear. These tops are stacked in bundles to dry, and then stored in the bam for fodder ; and it is urged that thus good fodder is made of the tops which cattle wiU eat, while the buts which cattle will not eat are left. It is true that tops saved in this way do make excellent fodder if not too long dried, but it is at the expense of the Corn. The Corn is not fully ripe when thus topped, and depends on the nourishment supplied by the leaves, for its full perfection. Cut off these leaves and the grain is cut off from some portion of its food. The experiment has been thoroughly tried, and it has been proved that Corn topped weighs 3 to 5 lbs. per bushel less than the same kind of Corn in the same field, saved in the manner I have directed. Again, by cutting the tops you make the buts utterly worthless, whilst under the stacking method, the buts cure with the tops, and wiU be eaten when cut and fed out ; and when cut in the method first given, before it is glazed and ripe, through fear of early frost, more Corn will fill out and ripen in the stook uninjured by frost, which would quite destroy it if treated by topping. There is a simple reason for this difference. The leaves of plants are their lungs. Sap is supplied by the roots in direct proportion to the demands of the leaves ; but when it first ascends the stem, it is crude and innutritious, as far from per- fection as is unfermented cider or unleavened bread. It ascends through the fibres of the stem and spreads itself to the sunlight in the sap vessels of the leaves, where it becomes refined and per- fected ; it then returns to the tissues, the fruit, or whatever part needs it ; unfit before to perfect the Corn, it is now fit and is appro- priated by the pecuUar sap-vessels of the ear. Beside this func- tion of the leaves, they act — how, has not yet been definitely ascer- tained — like the exhausting or suction valves in a pump ; they draw on the roots for moisture, and the roots furnish it, and just in proportion to the demand. Therefore, whenever the leaves are re- moved the demand ceases. Suppose, for instance, instead of " top- ping," all the leaves above the ears were picked off; no apprecia- ble demand for sap would be felt above this point, consequently none would be supplied. If all the ears were ripe, this would not matter, the plant being cultivated for the grain ; but when the Com is unripe it must surely suffer for the lack of those supplies of sap 152 OCTOBEE. that are needed to perfect it. What is true of gathering the leaves, is equally true of topping, which is merely the same thing more thoroughly done ; by either process any farther growth of the Com above the lower leaves is stopped. It is then plain that the farmer who cuts off the top of his Corn before the grain is fully ripe, cuts off the food necessary to insure perfection in that grain, and loses in corn what he gains in fodder. Return now to the plan I advise. Suppose the Corn to be cut at the root at the time when it would be topped under the other process, although that would be too early. It is evident that the broad leaves will draw up into themselves all the crude sap still lingering in the stem, of which we know there is a large quantity in the thick and succulent Corn stalks. This crude sap will pass through the leaves as it did before cutting, wiU be elaborated and returned to the ears, and so down through the stem, adding just so much to the value and perfectness of the grain. I have treated this matter at length because it is of great impor- tance to a people who depend largely on Indian Corn. Cutting at the but seems to those who have not tried it, more troublesome and expensive than " topping," because it necessitates, first, cutting and binding ; then, re-opening and plucking the ears ; then, re-gathering and mowing away the stalks ; but if the work is done judiciously, it is not as expensive as the ordinary method, in pursuing which we must first, cut, bind, stook, and cure the tops, then gather and store them ; second, gather the ears into the wagons as they are driven through the field ; then cut, stook, and store the buts, or throw them to the pigs, or bum them in the field. Three processes. In my method you cut, stook, and thoroughly cure both com and fodder ; when once well stooked it may be left until it is conven- ient to remove it, without injury to either corn or fodder ; the less time the fodder is exposed after getting dry, the better for it. The centre hill which was left uncut may either be cut at first, and all the bundles well braced against each other as in stooking wheat, etc., or when the'stooks are opened to gather the ears this hill may be cut, and, if not thoroughly dry, be laid in the sun a short time. When we are ready to put the Com into the crib, we send two ,THE FARM. 153 wagons into the field, open the stooks, pick oiF the ears and throw them into one wagon, fork the bundles of fodder into the other, and di-ive each to its appropriate place. We thus have but two opera- tions instead of three, and have aU the fodder together where it may be fed out or made into manure. The centre hill is well opened and laid ia the sun when the carts are first driven round the field, and by the time the loose bundles are all collected, will be dry enough to be gathered in their turn. Continue at intervals of leisure to open and drain ditches and collect materials for manure. If any of the much-travelled and level roads need gravel, dress them this month, as the long interval of open weather before winter will allow the gravel to become well trodden, and wiU insure a firmer and better road than if the gravel is spread in the spring. But do not put gravel on roads of steep grade, as the frost and rain of winter and spring will wash them badly. The principal marketing of this month will be Eoots, Cabbages, and Apples. Where the accommodation for the crops is ample, and they are well gathered, it is better not to sell them before spring ; the chief part of the expense and labor of the crop is over with the harvest, and the increase of price before spring is generally large. In the autumn many farmers of smaU. capital or inferior accommodations are compelled to sell, and thus the market price of green crops is much lower than in the spring, when the supply is small and the demand active. Cows. — Towards the last of this month the winter milch cows will be near calving, and they should have rather more generous food than the other cows. Every effort should be made to -have a large stock of new milch cows in the winter, as then the price of milk is largest, and the manure most easily and entirely saved. The value of manure depends very much upon the food of the stock, as manure is only the unassimilated food of the animals that produce it. Analyses of the various kinds of food have shown that some are more valuable for manure than others, and that this difference of value is in proportion to the elaborateness of the or- 154 OCTOBER. ganization of the different parts of the plant. Thus the seeds are better than the fruit, the fruit than the straw, the leaves and straw than the wood. Rape cake and oil cake, or the pressed seeds of Rape and Flax, when eaten, produce much more powerful manure than the tops of Turnips or roots of Rape or the straw of Flax. In- deed, the latter is often found to be poisonous to vegetation. Many- other examples might be offered in illustration of this fact. The reason is to be found in the greater amount of concentrated mineral and other elements, potash, soda, lime, ammonia, etc., which exists in the seed than in the hauhn and roots, these elements being the most valuable constituents of manure. It is a well-attested fact, that the manure of animals fed on grain and seeds is much richer than that of those fed on Grass, Hay, and Roots ; so that when the animals come into the barn for the long winter months, we have within our own hands the means, — which we could not have while they were at pasture, — of increasing the value of their manure. But this is not the only consideration. The Grass on which they have been feeding during the summer is always the best and cer- tainly the cheapest food for increasing the milk of cows and the flesh of fattening animals ; of this they are now deprived, and we must find something to supply its place. Hay alone will produce neither of the good effects of the fresh Grass ; Rowen is better for milk but not for flesh ; but Roots and Grain of different kinds, mixed with Hay and Rowen increase both milk and flesh. We come back then to the subject of milch cows and their food. In summer it costs but little to keep them, but the value of milk, unless we make butter and cheese, is low, and the manure is badly saved. In winter, on the other hand, the cost of keeping is large, but the price of milk rises in proportion, and the manure is aU saved, and can be produced of better quality. If, then, we procure new milch cows at this season, feed them well, and save all the manure, we shall get the largest possible profit from the opera- tion. Breeds of cattle best adapted to our latitude, and varieties and uses of manure, will be discussed in the winter months. THE FARM. 155 In September we selected the hogs which were to be killed in the winter. Improve the quality of their food as time goes on, and keep them warm. As the nights grow cold, the horses should be blanketed and should be protected from draughts of air. . Fowls which are to be killed at Thanksgiving, must be separated from the rest and cooped up for fattening. As the days grow shorter and the nights longer and colder, it will be more difficult for fowls to find food for them- selves, and those which are to be killed must be carefully attended to. The great point in fattening creatures of all kinds is to keep them always improving, and if they once receive a check it takes a long time and much extra care to start them again. Laying and stock fowls will need but little attention yet. CHAPTER XXn. ORNAMENTAL GKOtTNDS. Directions were given in September for preparing holes for trees and shrubs, and getting the latter ready for transplanting. Transplanting should not be begun till the leaves have either fallen or changed color preparatory to falling, for at that time, as has been shown, evaporation is at a minimum, and the tree has the best chance for a good future growth with the least amount of pruning. There is a theory that pruning may be dispensed with, and trees do sometimes live which have been transplanted without pruning, but they are starved and sickly for years. It is useless to expect half the original amount of roots, mutilated, and in a strange soil, to supply sap to the same amount of top as before removal ; as well might one expect a fuU-grown man to live and thrive on a child's allowance of food. There can be no doubt that the best time for transplanting all trees and shrubs which can bear our severe winter after a fresh removal, is the fall, for at that time both the trees and the earth are in the best possible condition for a successful operation. "When a tree is moved, the mutilated roots need both moisture and warmth ; the tree taken in the autumn from warm earth is set again into warm earth, and if this is done early in the season there will be time enough before winter for numerous new rootlets to creep out, which will give the plant a new hold on the earth and enable it to resist the winter winds. The rains of autumn will pack and settle the dirt between and about all the fibres, and the tree will become firm and steady. Well planted in this manner, it will be found by the earliest spring warmth that starts the sap ready to begin its circulation and growth quite as early, to say the least, as we could possibly think of transplanting in the spring. There is, be- 156 ORNAMENTAL. 157 sides, an accumulation of sap, made by tliose roots which are below frost, which is, as it were, so much capital prepared for the spring demand. This sap is what is drawn off from the sugar maple in large quantities. Trees and shrubs planted in the autumn gener- ally get a start of half a season over those pltmted in spring, and keep their advantage perceptibly for half a dozen years. Another advantage of autumn planting lies in the longer supply of water before the summer droughts, which renders the tree much less likely to be injured by them than if planted in the spring. Strongly as I recommend autumn planting, however, I should advise its total neglect rather than a poor execution of it. There is great ignorance on this subject of tree planting among those who ought to be best informed, and none the less that every man thinks himself beyond any need of instruction with regard to it, and this unconscious ignorance is the means of much waste of money and temper. Patience, great patience, is the first requisite for a successful planter'. In fact, the first and the most important acquisition to be made before undertaking the management of a country place is patience — a large stock of patience. Demosthenes described ac- tion as the first, the second, and the third requisite to successful oratory, so may I say of patience to him who would succeed in the culture of fruit, vegetables, or rural beauty. No natural process can be much hurried ; and when once a tree is well planted, a green- house erected, a grapery stocked, a flower-garden laid out, there is need of long and patient waiting, endurance of " hope deferred," before the wished-for result is attained. Starting then with plenty of patience, dig a hole as directed in September, not less than 4 feet in diameter and 2 feet deep. We want this depth both to secure for the roots free access to the subsoil where moisture is most abundant, and to enable us to fill in at the bottom good food for the tree during the next few years. If the holes were dug in September, or if the ground where these are to be made has been well trenched and enriched, you need only open out space enough for the proper accommodation of the roots. Ex- amine the top of the tree or shrub to be planted, and prune it if it needs pruning ; then look to the roots, and if any are broken, cut 14 158 OCTOBER. them off smoothly with a sharp knife drawn from beneath upwards, so that the cut surface may point downwards, and be left like a newly-made cutting, all ready to grow. Now set the tree into the hole so that the part of the stem from which the roots start may be on a level with the surrounding surface, — just on a level, — if the hole was made in September so that the earth at the bottom has had time to settle ; a little deeper when the hole is newly made. It is well enough to have the stem in the centre of the hole, though this is important only when you are planting a row of trees on a line which passes through the centre of all the holes. In general orna- mental planting avoid rows. Let your assistant steady the tree in the hole while you retire a short distance and look at the effect of its top ; recall to your mind its character when full grown, whether, erect or pendant, and see how your tree should stand to give its branches the best chance to develop its characteristic beauty and become a fine specimen of its kind ; and let your assistant turn and move it till it stands to your mind. While he still holds it, get into the hole and carefully draw out all the principal roots into the same relative positions they held before transplanting; in the same way comb out the smaller and fibrous roots. And now you will probably find that the point whence the roots di- verge is higher above the bot- tom of the hole than their ends, as in cut A. In this case, either take the tree out and shovel in earth enough to make a little mound in the centre of the hole on which the centre OKNAMENTAL. 159 of the tree may rest, or carefully work earth in by hand without removing the tree, till it stands evenly, all parts having an equal bearing. Now let your assistant shovel in earth upon the roots slowly, giving you time enough to raise the diffei-ent roots to their proper level ; for although aU -the roots, if long enough, may be brought down to the bottom of the hole, the position is not natural, and if compelled will injure the after-growth of the tree. Cut B shows my meaning. Dig the hole widest at the bottom. Fill the earth in thus gradually till the hole is about half full, or until the upper roots are partially covered ; this, and not the semi-fill- ing the hole being the important point. If the work has thus far been properly done, the tree will stand erect and firm without sup- port from the hand. I do not advise that tedious process of separating and laying out all the fibres of the roots which is so insisted on by most teachers, but merely direct that main roots and rootlets should be laid and combed out in the same relative positions they held before the tree was lifted. Attend to this and to their being carefully covered and surrounded with earth, and you have secured the important requisites ; more mi- nute and fussy attention will indeed make the success of the operation more certain, but not in proportion to the trouble taken, while they are pretty sure to exhaust the stock of that invaluable quality, patience, possessed by most men ; and when that fails, carelessness begins, bad habits are formed, and it is probable that the important steps as well as the minutise of transplanting will then be slighted. Leaving the tree in the condition just described, plant others in the same way until you have many in this half-finished state. When the day is so far advanced that there will be just time to finish the work, pour one or two pails of water — varying the quantity according to the size of the hole — slowly upon and around the roots of each tree ; no matter if it is raining at the time ; this water has nothing to do with supplying moisture to the tree ; its use is to separate the little rootlets from each other, which it does better than a hundred fingers, and with no draught on your stock of patience, and to draw down and pack close the finer par- ticles of earth about each fibre. When the water has drained away, throw back into the hole the earth remaining at the side ; * 160 OCTOBEK. when it is all returned you may gently tread it down. Observe that hitherto neither the foot nor any instrument has been used to consolidate the earth, for the effect of treading or any other pres- sure would have been to injure the rootlets ; but now there is so much earth between the foot and the roots, that they cannot be in- jured by pressure, while they will get all its benefits. If these trees do not thrive it will be because of some unavoid- able accident. They will not even be hurt by the winter winds, though some of the taller ones with large tops may need the sup- port of a stake, which should be driven in within an inch or two of the stem, before any earth is thrown on the roots. If it is driven after they are covered, there is danger that it will bruise the larger and tear the smaller roots. These directions will not be repeated. They are to be followed in all cases and for all trees and shrubs, unless some physical ob- stacle prevents, which must be met when it occurs, and ca,nnot be foreseen. The autumn planting so strongly recommended is not for all trees indiscriminately. Evergreens, as I said in September, should never be planted in the fall, unless from necessity ; no stone-fruited trees ; none that are but partially hardy ; no natives of any lati- tude where vegetation commences earlier and lasts longer than in ours (although there are some exceptions to the rule), should be planted in the fall. But it is the time to plant almost all our de- ciduous trees ; I have found the Hickory, Red Maple, Birch, Beech, Magnolia, Larch, Three-thorned Acacia, English Elms and Oaks are apt to die when planted in the fall, as are the European Larch, Ash, Laburnum, Beech, and Chestnut. It may seem to one not familiar with our ornamental trees, that these exceptions cut off nearly the whole number ; but a glance at the list of trees offered at any first-class nursery, will show that the varieties mentioned above as exceptions are but a small part of the list ; and many of those I except will not die entirely if well planted in the fall ; they are sure to spring anew from the root, but the top is apt to be winter-killed. And once for all, it is better to plant any of the excepted list in October, with the care just insisted on, than in spring in the com- ORNAMENTAL. 161 mon, careless method. I repeat that the later in the fall the tree is planted, the greater the danger of its being injured or killed. Many things are to be considered in making plantations, whether large or small, the neglect of which materially detracts from the beauty of the plantation. In another month will be found some lists of the trees and shrubs most desirable for this purpose. OCTOBER'S HARVESTS. When we think . of the glowing woods and purple lights and mists of October, it seems impossible that the analysis and descrip- tion of this month's work can be contained in meagre words and uninteresting narrative. No month is so full of rich and varied attractions, and none offers gratification and satisfaction to the di- verse tastes of so many admirers. Theoretically, October should be a sad month, for then the har- vests are mostly gathered in, the fields are bare of the summer's verdure, the woods in the first stages of leafy decay, the birds gone or going to more genial climates, the garden rusty and full of seedy or frost-stricken flowers ; every thing telling of the departure of genial summer and the approach of chiU winter. How opposite to this is the truth ! Now the fanner's heart over- flows with the consciousness of his wealth. The rent roll of the largest land-owner, the stocks and bonds of the richest broker, the ships and warehouses of the most princely merchant, can never give their owners such an overflowing and contented feeling of well-rewarded labor, as the crowded barns and granaries, and well- stocked linters and folds give the farmer. He has labored hard through the summer's heat, has cast many and anxious glances at the clouds and winds, has listened with strained ear for the creak- ing of ponderous wagons loaded with hay, as his experienced eye read the threats in the gathering clouds. But now under his own roof are gathered the accumulated and condensed rays of the sun and breaths of summer zephyrs ; the earth's fatness and its increase have contributed to make him rich. As he stands on his barn floor with the last rays of the sun just gilding the contented faces of the cattle enjoying, their evening meal or chewing their cud, 14* 162 OCTOBEK. and hears the rhythmical beating of the milk on the empty pails, or its muffled sound as the rapid stream is lost in foam, harmonizing with the quiet cooings of pigeons or the occasional drowsy remon- strance of some hen or chick crowded on the well-filled roost, his heart cannot fail to overflow with gratitude and thanksgiving for God's goodness and nature's bounties. The undeniable signs of wealth on all sides give him more positive satisfaction than any less tangible property can awaken in its owner. The miser to enjoy his hoard must lock his door and chink the gold pieces together, else half his pleasure is wanting. Bare ownership never rewards men ; the reward is in seeing the possession, and showing it to others. The well-fllled crib, the high-piled hay-stack or bay, the low of sleek cattle, the peacefiil bleat of sheep, all reiterate in tones unmistakable to us and to our neighbors, our prosperity and thrift, and bear constant witness to our summer's work. Go to a farmer at such a time if you wish him to contribute to any worthy cause, and you will scarcely be refused. And it is not the farmer only .that October cheers and delights. To the eyes of all who love nature, it offers, not decay and death, but a rich display of her choicest beauties. Every tree is now decked in its most glowing attire ; it seems as though all the sun's warmth and the earth's rich fatness had been collected and absorbed, only to be returned infinitely increased and improved. The air feels its duties enlarged, arid is changed into blue and purple mists, that envelop all the hills and fill the valleys. Nothing is as it was. The hedgerows that all summer long have been the home of the cat bird and the thrush, and whose floral beauties have hidden their heads in the thick verdure and shadow from the too ardent caresses of the sun, are now radiant with the yellow Golden-rod and the purple Aster ; in the brown meadows these flowers are almost put to shame by the rare blue of the Gentian. Rising from the meadows through these flower-mists of Asters and Golden-rods, gaining intensity of color as it reaches the Birches, Maples, Chestnuts, and Oaks, blended to- gether and yet made more brilliant by the purple atmosphere, the spirit of Beauty in color grows more and more wonderful and mag- nificent, till the splendors of the earth rival those of the sunset. It seems as if a consciousness of the long sleep of winter now near ORNAMENTAL. 163 at hand had roused the material world to show its gratitude to its Lord and Master for his constant care and kindness — for the gentle rains and winds of spring — for the. hot and stimulating suns of summer — for the bounteous harvests of autumn — into one resound- ing hallelujah, in whose song the voice of the smallest flower is not lost, though blended with the mighty tones of forest and mountain. His heart must be dead who can walk the woods and fields now, careless or unconscious of the beauty aroimd him. The harvest of the farmer is nearly over, and although ^ \ " like coals of fire the apples Glow among the withered leaves," he has little more to look for. But now is the very high noon of the harvest of beauty, which beginning for the true lover of nature in the Violet and May-flower of the sprmg, has been constantly swelling by brook and river, in the deep valley and up the hill- sides, all summer long, till now its fuUy ripened field is spread out over every foot of the earth's surface, and only waits the sickle of the reapers, who may cut and store away in their memories seed-grain which shall feed their minds in all the years to come, and growing and swelling in them, shall make them fit to partici- pate in all the bounties that God so lavishly pours upon his children through Nature. CHAPTER XXni. GREENHOUSE. OVEMBER. The work of the Greenhouse in November is a continuation of that for October. All plants should bj this time have been housed, for the most hardy cannot withstand the frosts which may come any night. It will not be necessary to start fires at present, unless we have a long cold rain- storm, or a cold " snap." This month and the next are the true winter for nearly all the plants in the houses. Such plants as have been carried in to blossom (Chrysanther mums, Btc.) are of course in their glory, and must have abundance of air, sun, and water ; all other plants are to be watered very ' sparingly, and aired often enough to keep them hardy and vigor- ous ; there will be a constant tendency to decay and mildew, which can be prevented by fresh air and the immediate removal of any dead or dying leaves, twigs, etc. Water only when there is a promise of bright weather, evaporation being slow in the present half dormant condition of the plants, and large supplies of water being likely to drown the roots. Be very careful that no cold finds you unprepared. In Novem- ber there are often ten days or a fortnight of perfect weather, the true Indian Summer ; but the nights are often very much colder than would be expected from the warmth of the days. If there are any bulbs now going out of flower, as Tuberoses or exotic bulbs, which are not to be stimulated during the winter, cover them with dry sand or moss, and lay them away in a warm, dry place, till spring. Shut up the sashes early in the afternoon ; put up the shutters 164 GREENHOUSE. 165 and let down the cover for the glass by the time the sun is fairly off the house. In this way you may keep a deal of warmth through the night. The gardener's judgment about keeping up his supply of flowers is severely tested in November and December. No good collec- tion need ever be destitute of flowers ; but our chief reliance must be on the common sorts, and principally on those that were taken from the flower-garden ; Eoses, Heliotropes, Chrysanthemums, Verbenas, and the early-laid Pinks. It is difficult to get much variety beyond this. Cinerarias, Callas, Violets, Cyclamens, Pe- largoniums, Nemophilas, should be shifted, as they fill the pot with roots ; water the Azaleas sparingly, and give Oranges and Lemons but little water tiU they grow. CameUas need abundant water, and occasional showering or washing of leaves, to remove dust As the Carnations thrust up flower stems, tie them to sticks ; set Pelargoniums near the glass, and bring Tenweek Stocks into the house near the glass ; keep Spring Roses in cold frames. As in almost every house many plants are kept for the purpose of bedding out in the spring, and others for forcing in early sum- mer, one or more good pits should be made to contain them. I will describe several kinds of cold or conservative pits, in whi^sh plants may be kept either dormant or active. They should be made about November, to be ready for plants when first re- moved from the garden. The chief obstacles to wintering plants in pits, is their liability to be harmed by vermin, and the difficulty of regulating light and heat. A Cheap Pit. — Select a piece of ground sheltered from the prevailing winter winds, and rather level, but with natural drainage enough to prevent water standing within 3 feet of the surface. Mark out a parellelogram of the proportions 2x3, the length running east and west if possible, the width never exceeding 6 feet ; 4 is better for convenience in managing. Dig this parallel- ogram 3 feet deep, and throw the earth out ; into the bottom of this cellar, and within three inches of each corner, drive into the earth a 3 x 4 joist ; those on the back, 5^ feet long, on the front. 166 NOTEMBEK. 4^ ; this will leave them 18 and 6 inches respectively above the surface of the ground. To these posts, on the inside all round, nail inch boards from the bottom of the pit to the surface of the ground ; this leaves a space 6 inches wide between the boards and the sides of the cellar ; fill this space with oak tan or manure, well trodden or rammed. Now nail inch boards to both sides of the joists above ground, and fill the space between with well rammed tan. You have now a pit the top of which slopes to the south or east. Nail across the top grooved strips of wood, at such distances as to receive the edges of sashes and shutters. The construction of the pit within wiU differ, according as the plants are to be kept over in pots or not. If in pots, cover the bottom of the pit 6 inches deep with stones (having first underdrained, if the natural drainage is bad) ; over them put 1 foot of oak tan, or coal ashes, into which plunge the pots up to the brim ; this may be done any time before the first frosts. The objects to be sought are dryness, ventUation, and warmth ; the first to be secured by drainage, natural or artificial ; the second as follows : cover the fi-ames, as you would a hotbed, with sashes," to slide in the grooves before mentioned ; in the early morning and late afternoon keep the sashes closed, but open them partly in, the middle of the day until settled cold weather comes. At night cover the sashes with mats held in their places by boards ; you will thus keep a moderate, uniform temperature in the pit. Just before winter, drive down a post 2 feet from each corner of the pit, and on a line 2 feet from the ends ; set those on the back up a little higher, and those on the front a little lower, than the parts of the pit-roof nearest them ; board up the outside of these posts, and fill in between these boards and the pit with well trodden leaves. Bank outside of all with leaves or long manure, as high as the shutters and mats. The cut shows a section of the pit. o, interior of pit ; B, comer posts ; c, inside boarding ; d, outside boarding above ground ; e, sashes, etc. ; /, second set of posts ; g, boards on outside of these ; H, tan . or leaf filling ; i, outside bank. When winter is about to set in, lay the shutters over the glass. GREENHOUSE. 167 over them straw matting, over the matting leaves or straw 6 inches deep, sloping aU to the lower side ; cover the whole with loose boards to shed rain. Make openings from the outer air into the pit by thrusting a handful of straw at intervals of about 3 feet through the covering into the pit; they will act as ventilatoi's, the air passing up' and down the straw. Whenever, during the winter, the outside temperature rises above freezing, and promises to stay so even for a few hours, uncover the whole top and open the sashes, so as to change the air. Before closing the pit in the fall, strew over the surface of the earth plenty of poisoned meal or bread, to destroy any vermin that may burrow in. When the pit is opened during the winter, examine it, and remove any decaying plants or dead ver- min, and water very slightly with tepid water, but not unless the earth in the pots is very dry. As spring approaches, the coverings may be gradually removed, till the weather allows the plants to be treated as if they were in an ordinary hotbed. The success of the pit depends mainly on good drainage, gradual hardening of the plants during the fall, and as frequent admission of air and hght through the winter and spring as possible. If the plants are put directly into the earth instead of pots, the pit must be managed differently. First fill in 6 inches of loose stones, then 1 foot of oak tan, or compact short manure ; over this 1 foot of rich loam. As early as the middle of September plant in this loam Geraniums, Helio- tropes, Verbenas, etc. Treat like a hotbed ; give air and water often enough to properly ventilate and stimulate the plants. When they seem to be well rooted, and begin to make a new growth, give all the air possible. Keep the sashes off whenever the nights are not too cold, and gradually reduce the water to a minimum ; be careful that they are not touched by frost, and if necessary cover at night with mats or shutters ; the aim being to harden the plants slowly. 168 NOVEMBER. and by checking their growth to throw them into a dormant state. From this point treat as if they were in pots. An excellent conservative pit may be made in which to winter all kinds of plants, if we have the control of a small amount of heat. Such a pit should be a permanent structure, and will therefore be rather more expensive than the one just described. I do not mean what is often called a conservative pit, in which flowers can be pro- duced during the winter, but one where plants can be ventilated and kept in a more healthy condition than in a close pit. The objection to the pit before described, is that it is unsightly and clumsy, and destitute of abundant ventilation ; the one now to be described can be in any portion of the ground without offending the eye or the nose. There are few or none like it in this country, but it is com- mon in England, and recommended by the best English authori- ties. It is 6 feet wide, 3^ feet high behind, 2^ feet high in front, with hollow brick walls, the air chamber thus left being a better non- conductor than 9 inches of solid brick, beside affording a means for ventilating and heating. Length such as you please. The pit may be either wholly or partly above ground. Its site is a matter of some importance, to secure ready drainage and convenience in warming. It would be well to have it near the greenhouse, the dwelling-house, or the barn cellar. The cut shows how it could receive warmth from dung, and more, if necessary, from hot-water pipes. If the plants to be preserved need 2|- feet in the clear, dig 2 feet additional of cellar. Cover the bottom with coal ashes to absorb any water that may fall through. Carry ,. up the wallis, h h, on the pigeon-hole system ; i. e., lay ' them so as to leave ^ an open space every other brick, the size of the end of a brick. When you reach the surface of the ground, c, begin to carry up either a solid brick wall 9 inches thick, or a double wall ; in the latter case, let the air chamber connect with the GREENHOUSE. 169 pigeon-holes below, so that the air wanned by the lining or the fire, may ascend into the air chamber. Carry through the walls near the floor, and thence by an elbow to the surface, pipes, g, 3 inches in diameter, and 6 feet apart, with a movable cover, to admit out- side air to the bottom of the pit, the chill being taken oif in its pas- sage through the lining in the chamber d, and the warming being completed by contact with the hot pipes. Build the outer wall, e, of solid brick, 2 feet from the inside wall ; cover d with a lid shutting down tight. The heating pipes are shown at h. Build a floor, i, about on a level with the surface of the ground, of crossed strips of wood, making an open work, through which water spilled at any time will fall to the coal ashes below and be absorbed ; on this floor the pots are to be set. No provision is made for aeration, as no cold air holes are to be allowed above the surface in severe weather ; at other times the sashes may be raised enough to allow confined air to escape ; but fresh air will be admitted through h whenever the valve which con- trols it at the top is open. The chambei" between the brick walls at d being filled with well- trampled, unfermented stable manure, the heat from this will spread through the pigeon-holes in the wall h, and suffice for all but the most severe weather ; this filling must be changed as often as it loses its heat. When d is full, shut / and cover it with boards and straw. The pipes h h are to be connected with the house fur- nace or boiler or range, or with the boiler in the greenhouse, or the smoke-flue of some constantly used chimney may be carried under the floor. The sashes are movable, and in cold weather covered with shutters and mats ; the latter must be large enough to cover and lap over the joists. When the preservation of the plants is the sole object, it is well to let the pit face the north, that the plants may not be too much heated and stimulated to grow ; but if a gentle, early growth is desired, the aspect should be toward the south or east. In summer the sashes can be removed, and in spring the heat can be regulated by admitting air. No heating pipes or flues would be necessary, if the depth and width of d were so increased as to hold a large body of manure, 1.5 ^: 170 NOVEMBER. which must be removed and renewed as often as it loses its heat. The outer air should always be introduced into the bottom of the pit, that it may be warmed before it reaches the plants. Remember that perfect dryness is essential to the success of such a pit. Many of the half-hardy plants can be carried through the winter in a pit thus managed, with but little manure, and that seldom re- newed ; the half-hardy Roses often live through our winter with only a covering of straw, and Pelargoniums and Verbenas can en- dure a considerable degree of cold. Span-roofed cold-pits made in this manner, cost but little more, and like all span-roofed buildings, they are better when light and air can be admitted ; but during our severe winters they are pro- tected with more difficulty. By the use of a peculiarly made rafter, additional warmth may be secured. The cut shows a section of such a rafter ; 6 is a shoulder where the sash rests and ^ slides ; c is another shoulder where a wooden IV shutter slides ; a button, a, keeps it in place. The - air chamber, 2 inches deep, between h and c, is a better protection than an additional shutter. November is the proper month for cleaning and mending hotbed frames, making new ones, and getting them all ready for spring. Hotbeds may be made as simply as one pleases, and at a very small cost. The rough and cheap kinds answer very well, but require more care and watching than the best. We have several varieties on our place, which will be described hereafter. Many half-hardy and even quite tender plants may be safely preserved till spring, by freezing them up. Surround them with rough deal boxes, leaving the top open until violent freezing weather comes on. When they are well frozen cover the tops and exclude light and air tUl the spring is so far advanced as to remove danger of hard freezing ; then gradually uncover and thaw them out. In many cases it is not so much the freezing which destroys life, as the alternation of frequent freezings and thawings ; this may be prevented in the way described. CHAPTER XXIV. CONSEEVATOET. Theee is but little to be done in the conservatory this month. The general management is the same as in the greenhouse ; but as more plants are in blossom than in that house, there is need of more heat, lest they be checked and their buds damped off. All that is necessary, however, is to keep a mild and uniform temperature, water moderately, and give no general syringing except on bright days. The Camelias are swelling their buds considerably, and if the gardener has shown due attention, there, will be a good general supply of flowers. In no month is a beautiful collection of flowers more cheering than now, when the glow and beauty of October are slipping away to join the by-gone glories of summer. The trees have lost their leaves, and the occasional Aster or Golden-rod to be jnet with in our walks, only renders the contrast of naked trees, sere and yel- low leaves, frost-burnt grass and deserted garden, more sad. There will stUl be beautiful days, and during the true Indian summer, when the skies are full of warm, vague lights, and a mys- terious haze clothes every thing and penetrates everywhere, we shall bask contentedly in the sunshine ; but such days will soon be gone. They are the last lingering kisses summer is giving the be- loved earth ere she goes. They are indeed beautiful, yet always sad. Nature seems tearfully bidding good-by to the loveliness that lingers in the land ; and as in our memories the pleasures of the past are most prominent, and veil with their rosy light and pleasant indistinctness the sorrows, the painful experiences, the days of sickness and misery, so is the face of the earth suffused with the exhaling memories of spring and summer ; the trees and rocks and grassy meadows are all bathed in rare purple and golden 171 172 NOVEMBER. lights, and covered and penetrated with mists and vapors, which seem to clothe lovingly and sympathizingly the trunks and limbs that have stripped in preparation for their coming contest with the ■winter storms. But these tender and precious memories are still those that rise as good-by is spoken. As we stroll through the woods, our feet tustle in fallen leaves. We look out through naked stems and • branches over wide views, which but a few weeks ago were hidden by thick, leafy curtains. No birds fill the air with cheerful songs, though an occasional partridge whirs away before us, or a quail rises to find more secret cover. The busy squirrel hastens from tree to tree with quick leap and sharp bark, eagerly gathering the remaining nuts for his winter's store. Before our walk has been carried to half its former length, the shortening day and setting sun remind us that home-life and firelight must take the place of the prolonged rambles of the summer that is gone. In such days we receive peculiar delight upon entering a well- fiUgd conservatory, whose fresh, green leaves, bright flowers, and delicious fragrance beguile the senses, and together with the warm sun and still air, induce the belief that summer has not gone, but has_ only come in from the fields without, where she was common to all, and yet had about her something of the unapproachable and grand, to our hearts and homes, that nearness and daily familiarity may make us more intimate with her workings, and unlock to us the secrets of her growth and perfection ; and, by bringing us closer to her may awaken or strengthen our love for her wonders and beau- ties, and bring us into sympathy with the floral loveliness so lavishly spread on all sides during the growing year. S5 P3 CHAPTER XXV. GRAPEKY. The grapery makes but slight demands On the gardener's atten- tion during this month ; the retarding-house alone needing careful watching, as the fruit there begins to ripen, and in order to pre- serve it a long time, a uniform and rather low temperature must be maintained. During bright, dry weather admit air freely, to sweeten and dry the house, but never do this when it is cloudy or damp. Dryness and uniformity of temperature are now the desir- able things. If it were possible to darken the house as soon as the fruit is fairly ripe, the Grapes could be better preserved, but it would be at the expense of the vines. Disbud the vines, as di- rected in February. Grapes on vines, retarded in pots, may be preserved by setting the pots into a cool, dark room, as most culti- vators attach no farther value to the^e vines, which, like all others, are certain to be injured by prolonged darkness. Many ingenious plans have been invented for preserving Grapes, and with various success. For instance: cut, off the bunch, with a bit of the wood, by which it may be hung up in a cool, dark, dry place, and kept for a long time without shrivelling. The berries, however, lie on one another, and often rot ; it has, therefore, been proposed to suspend the bunch by a string, tied to the stem, near the small end, thus inverting the cluster, so that every berry may fall bac'k from its neighbors, and contact be avoided ; cut a long cane with the bunch, and set its end in water, removing a section occasionally, to ensure absorption. Again : lay the bunches in drawers covering, and supporting each with cotton batting ; this keeps them pretty well. Undoubt- edly the method given before for pears — packing 'between layers of flannel or cotton, in tight buckets, would be excellent for grapes. 15* 173 174 NOVEMBBE. But the vines are the best place for them as long as they can well be kept there. With a separate house or compartment for each kind of vine, the fruit could be better preserved, as different vines ripen at different seasons, and need different degrees of heat and moisture to bring them to, and keep them in, the best condition. But this is not within our means. Prune vines in forcing-house, and cold grapery, as the wood ripens ; also the fruit trees. Mr. Allen, to whom I have frequently referred, gives, as the best vines for retarding-houses, the following names, and propor- tions. If the house is small, have fewer vines ; if large, more in the same proportion. Black Hamburgh, 6 Canmon Hall Muscat, Muscat of Alexandria, 2 White Hamburgh, Zinfindal, 1 Escholata Muscat, Black Lombardy, 5 White Nice, Wortlyhall Seedling, 3 Red Lombardy, Tottenham Park Muscat, 1 Queen of Nice, Syrian, 3 Bowker, Black Damascus, 1 Bishop, Black Prince, 1 Black Portugal, or Ferrara, Old Black St. Peter's, 1 Prince Albert, 3 Temper'atube. — To ensure the right temperature in all our houses, during November and December, it is necessary to watch the thermometer closely, and have the fires ready to kindle at a moment's notice. Our climate is treacherous in these months, and we often have several days of unexpected and severe frost, fol- lowed by many of mild and charming weather. Now, and in future, it is very important to preserve a standard and uniform degree of moisture in the house ; and the only accu- rate means of determining moisture and warmth is the hygrometer or double-bulbed thermometer. By this instrument you may easily ascertain the precise amount of heat and moisture present in the air at any one time. To understand it, and its use, we must revert to the general laws which govern the atmosphere. The evaporation which goes on so rapidly beneath a summer GEAPEKT. 175 sun, is water assuming the form of vapor, and rising in accordance with the general laws of gases. Gases do not generally, when mixed together, form a single gas, but only a mixture, like sand and water. Thus the vapor, in the air, spreads itself by its own elastic- ity, dependent on its temperature, or is carried about in currents of moving air. The amount of vapor which a cubic foot of space can contain, depends solely on its temperature ; although the time required to fiU that space with vapor, from water of the same tem- perature, depends on the density of the air in it, by which the ex- pansion of the vapor is retarded. If air, containing all the vapor which its temperature admits, be chilled ia any degree, a part of its vapor will be changed into water, in a state of very minute sub- division, which will float like dust in the air ; this is fog, mist, or cloud. If the air is at 70°, but contains only as much vapor as might be held by air of 57°, it is plain that mist would not be formed until the air was cooled down to 57°. The degree to which air must be cooled, to make the vapor in it turn to water, is called the dewpoint ; and the dewpoint evidently shows the quantity of water in the air. When the dewpoint is high, and the air is by any means forced to ascend, and thus by expansion and other causes, to be cooled, clouds are formed. The upward motion of the air is indicated by the barometer's falling. When any surface is colder than the dewpoint, it chills the ad- jacent vapor into dew. The simplest exemplification of this is seen when a cold surface is held over a steaming kettle, and condenses into drops the water which we see in the form of steam ; and when a film of water collects on the outside of a glass of iced water, in summer, the same operation is repeated, the only difference being that the watery vapor has before been invisibly diffused in the air, instead of being visible as steam. The cold, condensing surface which nature hiolds to collect a portion of the unseen moisture in the atmosphere, as dew, is the surface of the earth, and the things upon it. Dew falls by night, and not by day, because the sun-heats prevents the earth from cooling during the day, though it is radiating {i.e., parting with) its heat as constantly 176 NOVEMBEE. at one time as at another. All night long the earth gives off heat, while it receives none in return, and thus it becomes colder than the air that is nearest it, and begins to take heat from the air, i.e., becomes at once a cold, condensing surface, and dew is deposited on it. Remember that' cold surfaces become condensers in virtue of their power to draw away that heat from the air, on which, as has been said, its power of containing vapor partly depends. The rapidity with which dew is deposited depends, therefore, on the warmth of moisture in the air, and on the difference between its , temperature and that of the earth ; cold condenses moisture as the hand squeezes a sponge, and when either the air or the sponge is nearly as full of moisture as it can hold, a slight squeeze brings out the water. Objects with a large amount of surface in proportion to their bulk, as is the case with grass and trees, radiate heat most rapidly, and are, of course, the best condensers, as may be seen by the greater amount of dew on them than on smooth ground or boards. In cold nights the dew freezes as it forms, and we have frost. Independently of the cooling influence of the earth, the atmos- phere cools somewhat at night, though its power of radiation is as small as its power of absorbing the heat radiated into it. It is for this reason that a covering of mats in a cloudy night protects plants from frost — the mats or clouds aeting as a screen to prevent the escape of the heat which the earth is radiating, and to shut it in about the surface which they cover. Understanding, then, that the power of the atmosphere to con- tain watery vapor depends mainly on its temperature, its heat, and the amount of moisture already contained in it, we see the value of an instrument by which these two conditions, the heat, and extent of saturation, may be ascertained ; in connection with the barometer it enables us to foresee changes of weather. The hygrometer is a thermometer with two bulbs and stems ; about one of the' bulbs a bit of cambric is fastened by one end, while the other falls into a cup of water, placed just beneath the bulb, and thus keeps the bulb constantly wel, and at the temperature of water standing exposed in the atmosphere, to which temperature the air must closely assimilate before any rain can fall, and this GRAPERY. 177 temperature may be read off by the height of the mercury in the wet tube, wliile that in the other tube shows the temperature of the air not in contact with the wet bulb. So long as there is much difference in the temperatures shown by the two thermometers, there will be no general deposition of moisture, dew, nor especially rain, for that cannot take place till the general temperature approaches the dew point. But the upper strata of air may be at this point, and the probability of rain is greater or less in proportion to the distance of air thus saturated, and cooled from the earth's surface. The air cools 1;^° and the dew point sinks 1° for every 100 yards that we rise above the earth. If the barometer is faUing while the difference of temperature between the two tubes of the hygrometer is slight, it is plain that we may expect a change of weather soon, at the surface level ; and this will come the sooner if the sky is crowded with cirro cumuli clouds, — particularly if the cumuli have flat bases, — the cirrus at such times showmg a very moist state of the upper air. By the following formula the probability of wet weather may be calculated from the hygrometer, the barometer being examined at the same time. When there is a difference of 20° between the wet and dry bulbs clouds can scarcely form ; but they form when the difference is reduced to 10° or 12°, and then rain may be ex- pected, provided the barometer is falling. ;iply the difference between Wet Bulb and Dry Bulb by 40° 45° 2.3 45° 50° 2.1 50° 55° 2.0 55° , 60° 1.8 60° i 65° 1.8 65° 70° 1.7 above 70° 1.5 Subtract the product from the figures of the dry bulb in the same line, — that is, from the temperature of the air, — and you have the dew point. When the two bulbs are within a few degrees of 1 78 NOVEMBER. each other, a very slight commotion in the atmosphere will pro- duce rain. Thus, suppose Dry Bulb. Wet Bulb. 70° — 65°= 5° X 1.7 =8° 70° — 8° = 62° = dew point. To this point the atmosphere will often cool in summer, and in all cases where the multiplying factor, is 1.1, or when, in other words, the thermometers are near the same point, rain is threatening, and will fall soon. For the general use of horticul- ture, it is enough to compare the two thermometers of the hy- grometer, without making a calculation, for this tells accurately enough to what extent the air is saturated. Thus in the retarding-house in November, we can ascertain at a glance whether the air is too moist, or if with the air in the forcing house at a given temperature we wish to increase the moisture, we can proceed with perfect certainty of success. It is also a great assistance, in connection with the barometer, to the haymaker, in deciding upon the weather to be expected. And it is the general service which the instrument may render in the hands of a careful experimenter, which has induced me to en- large to such an extent as I have, on the subject, The Foecing-House. — This house needs only to be kept clear of all decaying matter, ventilated freely, and kept at a uni- form temperature, and, as before said, pruned if the wood is ripe. So with the Cold Grapbrt. — Keep the vines here as cool as possible, without risk of injury from frost. As soon as the leaves begin to fall, early in the month, cut back all this year's cane, excepting 4 feet ; cut the spurs which have fruited back to the new wood, and those which have not, to one eye which may bear next year. This is a good time to cut out all spurs that crowd each other, leaving the permanent spurs not less than 8 inches apart on the GRAPERY. 179 same side of the stem. Clean the grapery thoroughly, and white- wash the walls, mixing a little sulphur with the wash. Dress the vines, as directed for Peaches in February, with the sulphur wash ; towards the close of the month, unfasten them from the trellisses and lay them down for the winter, and as the weather becomes cold, cover with mats. CHAPTER XXVI. FLOWER-GAEDEN. November is the last month of the flower-garden for this calen- dar year ; now is to be done every thing left unfinished in the pre- ceding months. Finish planting any bulbs yet on hand. They may be planted, indeed, any time before the frost comes, but will blos- som better, if planted early enough to make roots in the autumn. The beds should be covered with litter ; common Tulips, Hya- cinths, Narcissus, and Crqcuses, need very slight protection ; the depth of an inch or two of old litter, straw, or leaves, scattered over the bed, is enough ; indeed, they are so hardy that they can stand the frost without any covering at all, but they flower earlier and better if they are covered. The choice varieties should be protected, with some well-rotted compost added to the litter. You may still, if there is room in the greenhouse, etc., take up Daisies and Pansies, Gilly and Wall-flowers, which have not blos- somed, for winter forcing. Daisies may be carried through the winter in blossom, if transplanted now, with a good ball of earth, into a common hotbed frame. As soon as planted, put in the sashes, and keep them warm enough to start them ; then admit air freely, so as to harden them. From this time, keep the sashes on only enough to shut out the frost; cover them with mats and leaves on very cold days ; admit air whenever it is possible. The Daisies will begin to blossom, if attended to by the last of March, and continue till the hotbeds can be removed from around them. The same treatment of English Violets and Pansies will insure a large yeild of flowers early in the spring. Ranunculuses and Anemones in this latitude are very difiicult to raise, unless protected through the winter in some such way as I have just described ; some of the latter are so tender as to need as much care and attention as a cold pit. 180 FLOWER-GAEDEN. 181 Early in the month, or before the ground freezes, take up all bulbs not hardy, as Tuberose, Madeira Vine, Lilies, Amaryllis, Gladiolus, etc. ; dry them carefully and pack them away in dry sand till it is time to start them in the spring. The foliage of some of these bulbs will have already perished, while that of others will be green unless touched by the frost. Allow the tops of the latter to dry before you separate them from the roots after they are taken up. The sap contained in the tops wiU settle into and ripen the bulbs. The Polyanthus is quite hardy in this latitude, but the choice kinds flower much more abundantly when covered during the winter. Carnations, also, though hardy, are sometimes killed by being started in the warm days in February and March, and ought to be protected by a light covering of litter. Select from your bulbs such as are to blossom in glasses or pots, in the greenhouse, conservatory, or dwelling-house, in the spring, and plant them or set them into glasses. For this purpose select none but the ripest and healthiest-looking bulbs, as any others will give a weak and spindling growth, and perhaps prove deficient in flowers. The bulbs fitted for such growth are Tulip, Hyacinth, Dwarf-Iris, Polyanthus, Narcissus, Crocus, and Jonquil. Regular bulb glasses are the best things to use ; set the bulb into the neck of the glass and fill with water until it just covers the crown of the bulb. If you take a large glass, and cover the mouth with coarse wire gauze, you can set into it several kinds of bulbs, which will blossom together. Protect the tender Rhododendrons, Half Hardy Roses, Mahonia, and, indeed, all tender Evergreen or deciduous shrubs, with bass mats. Evergreen branches, or straw. For the Evergreens it will be enough to stand branches of Pine or Hemlock closely around them ; what they need is protection, not so much against cold as against the sun's rays in the early spring. Most of the other plants should have straw bands twisted around them, but not in thick masses, as the straw is liable to get wet, or heat and decay, and thus destroy the plant. Standard Roses should be laid down on the earth, where they may be held by long forked sticks, and covered with straw or leaves, overlaid with branches of Evergreen. 16 182 NOVEMBER. Bengal and China Eoses must be covered either with earth or deep litter ; Musk, Noisette, and Ayrshire should be well wrapped in straw and mats ; Bourbon in light litter ; Hyb. Bourbon, Hyb. Chinese, Hyb. Perpetual should be lightly wrapped in straw ; Provence, French Moss, Rose Alba, and other garden Eoses should be pruned and have a little manure piled about their roots and be left. Prune all hardy Eoses before covering, leave tender kinds till March or April. For Rose culture see June and July. Examine the borders and remove every weed, and, if possible, dig them over, also the flower-beds and borders, so that the loosened earth may admit the frost freely, to crumble stones and clods, and kill the eggs of insects and the seeds of weeds. Any beds that will need manure next summer should have a good dressing of long and unfermented manure now ; this being dug in will, during the winter, ferment and decay, and bring the soil into fine condition for next season's culture. As you will want next spring and summer a variety of compost, make, into convenient heaps old leaves, straw manure, wood mould, muck and clay, or sand. These mixed with lime and ashes will make excellent compost, ready for use when you want it. Examine the gravel walks, — dig out any weeds that have been left, and put on and roll well such gravel as is needed ; the frost will mix it with the old stock, and another rolling in the spring will give us paths in firstrate order. • Baskets and all wire-work should be removed now into the tool- room for the vrinter, and the beds enclosed with wire-work be well dug over. Look over the vines on trellises ; clear away dead branches, prune off all straggling ends, and tie the vines carefully to the supports, lest the winter winds thresh them about ; untie and cover with straw or mats the tender Roses and Bignonias. Most of the perennials should have been planted in October, but it is not too late any time before hard frosts. I will accordingly now give a plan for planting one of our beds with perennials, and bedding out plants, to produce an agreeable effect. See plan, beds R. The numbers on the plan refer to the FLOWEK-GAEDEN. 183 heights of plants ; 1 for the highest, and so on. The following is the list of plants for those beds : — Time of Flower. Height. Color. No . Plants. No. 1. Saxifrage, May, Sin. white, 1. Uvularia grandi- flora, " 1 ft. yellow. 2. Primula, " " yellow, red, 1. Double Eagged Robin, (( " i"ed, 1. Purple Lupin, June, 2 ft. blue. 1. Iris, " 3 ft. blue, white. 3. Blackberry Lily, " 18 in. yellow, 1. Spirea, " " various, 2. Lychnis, " 2 ft. scarlet, 3. Fraxinella, July, tt blue, Monarda, it " white, scarlet, 3. Hibiscus, it " ■ various, 3. Lily, " 1 to 3 ft. " 4. No. 2. Solomon's Seal, May, 1 ft. white, 3. Columbine, " " various. 4. Primula, " " yellow, red, 2. Hairy Phlox, June, 6 in. red, 1. Canadian Lily, iC " " 2. Garden Pink, " " sorts. 6. Campanula, double and single. " " tt 3. Flax, it " blue and yellow, 2. Double Lychnis, July, 1 ft. scarlet. 2. Antirrhinum, it 1 ft. to 6 in. sorts. 3. Lily, " " ft 3. Aster double. Aug. (( '* 12. Ladies Tresses, " 6 in. white, 2. Achillea, Aug., Sept., 1 ft. red, white, 2. Asters Single, " " ■ sorts. 6. No. 3. Moss Pink or Phlox, May, 6 in. red, white. 2. Pulmonaria, " tt purple, 1. LilyoftheYalley, " " white, many. June, " white, blue, 2. Campanula, July, I ft. blue, white. 2. In No. 3 room is to be left for some of the bedding plants. For 184 NOVEMBER. such a bed, place in the back part near the larger perennials, sev- eral roots of Sage ; Mexican and Large Purple. Coming forward in the bed, put in Orange Lantana, Heliotrope, Pelargonium (Tom Thumb, Horse-shoe, etc.). Trailing Lantana, and Verbena ; in front, along the edge of the path, will be sown Mignonette and Sweet Alyssum. BED K. Time of flower. Height. Color. No. Plants. No. 1. Pedicularis, May, 1 ft. yellow. 2. Uvularia, " n ds appear should stand in pans constantly- full of water. After it has blossomed it should have as much sun as possible, and little water, till the spring of the next year, when the watering and stimulatiag should be recommenced. A glance at the Oleander shows that three shoots start from the growing points, which in large plants are the flower shoots. If you would have a plant or a part of a plant blossom freely, rub off the young shoots as soon as they appear at the base of the flower buds ; all the sap will then be thrown first into the buds, and will conse- quently deyelope magnificent flowers, while three other buds or shoots wiU start lower down on the branch, which terminates' in the flowers. By carefully attending to this you will not only get much better flowers, but will keep the plant in much better condition and shape, as without pruning it often becomes straggly and unmanage- able. Cut down the plants every spring, after flowering. Once in three years you must repot. If you cannot obtain pots large enough for the entire roots, pare the ball with a sharp knife, on the sides and bottom, till it fits the pot ; after repotting set in a shaded place, and in a few weeks the roots will form anew. By thus carefully watching and managing Oleanders you may obtain their full and great beauty. They are great ornaments k> the garden in summer, whether in pots or tubs, above the surface or sunk in the open ground. Rhododendrons are quite as impatient of heat as Camelias, and need more water while forming their fiower buds. They may be freely grown from seed, cuttings, layers, or by budding. Daphnes are freely grown by cuttings, or by grafting on common sorts of the same species. In December hang up here, as in the greenhouse, the plants which you wish to have pendant from the roof and windows. Give Acacias, as they come into flower, abundant water. Now is the time for persons who have no large estates or garden structures for keeping and growing plants, to do something in a 232 DECEMBEK. small way, by which they may secure the delights of flowers and plants in winter. Some persons have a knack at making all kinds of plants grow in the most unfavorable circumstances. I think this is partly owing to a magnetic attraction existing between such persons and their plants. The plants seem to know that they are loved, that they are house- hold treasures, that every new leaf and flower is as welcome as the new words and expanding thoughts of a baby to its mother. Ap- parently conscious of this, they do their utmost, and in places the least adapted for successful house culture of plants, we often find stands or individuals equal to the best greenhouse specimens. I was never more impressed with this than in the town of Beau- fort, near Quebec. The road winds along beside the St. Lawrence, and through a village of French people, who have preserved the customs of their old French ancestors, and whose houses are repro- ductions of the picturesque cottages of Northern France. Their climate is very extreme, and the thermometer, for months together, is 10° or 15° below zero. The houses are some of stone, some of wood, plastered on the exterior, heated only by stoves, and yet in the early spring there may be seen, in almost every cottage by the road-side, large plants — Roses, Pelargoniums, Fuchsias, some five or six feet high, and not in blossom merely, but so filled with flowers that the leaves only served like the green in a bouquet, to show the flowers to better advantage. Apart from the singularity of such successful culture under these unfavorable circumstances, how beautiful it is to see these, or any flowers, in the houses of the poor ! it is a proof that there glows in the heart of the occupants a recognition of something in life more worthy of admiration than the merely practical and bread-earning. A few flowers in the window, a border neatly trimmed and kept in tte front yard, a vine trailing over the door, along the eaves, or overhanging the architrave of the window, are the best possible proof that the dwellers in that house are, whether rich or poor, capable of rising above the troubles and cares of life, to the higher and better regions of Nature and God. We talk often of natural and revealed religion which point us to the earth, to the universe with its wonderful mechanism, as a CONSEKVATOEY. 233 proof that there is a God, and that no such wonderful elaboration, where each part fits into its appropriate place, and where the whole machine, subtle,* grand, and simple, works so calmly and perfectly, could have existed except by careful design. They tell us that the proof is overwhelming that one mind arranged every part and detail before the world was started on its career ; and un- doubtedly their argument is just and weighty ; but it has not half the power "that lies in the color and fragrance of the Rose, the twinkle of the dew-drop, the flashing, shifting ripple of the brook, the calm, holy, and indescribably beautiful reflection along the shores of some wooded pond or mountain lake. These are the visible manifestations of Grod. He is the Beautiful ; and when we love and cultivate the beautiful, we love and cultivate his plain outward manifestation. Every flower that blooms, every crystal or water-drop that glis- tens, is a proof positive of the presence and all-pervading influence of God ; and every heart that is open to the love of a flower even, is open to the love of its Maker ; though covered, concealed, unac- knowledged, it is there, and sooner or later the simple flower will lead its lover to other higher loves. Teach children to love flowers, waters, trees, skies ; open their hearts early to aU the powerful and subtle influences of nature if you would have them noble and worthy men and women. God might have made the whole earth green ; might have spread no varied feast of form and color for the eye, without a change in the daUy motions of the heavens or in the daily events of life ; and yet how different a world would- this have been ! how dull and uninteresting ! Take color from the forms of creation, and you take away a stimulus without which the mind would grow dull, listless, indifferent to some of the highest pursuits which now engage it. The constant presence of beauty is the strongest evidence for the immortality of the soul. The annual death of the leaves and flowers, and their annual resurrection teach an unmistakable lesson. The dewy mornings, gentle verdure, and whitening blossoms of May and June, have appealed to the noblest and best in man since history's earliest record; the rich summer beauty and luxuriance of July, the 20* 234 DECEJIBEE. brilliancy of October, have aroused and ennobled innumerable minds ; and we, who in the enthusiasm of youth or maturity of manhood reverence and admire the beauty of nature, are worship- ping the same outward revelations of God, which have appealed to mankind for many generations. The simplest flower, a single bud, the crimson spider that flashes about in our ponds and rivers, the sea anemone achored to its rock, are all parts of, and necessary to, the whole wonderful beauty of na- ture. In beauty there is a law of gravitation ; each atom attracts the whole in proportion as it is itself attracted. The simplest object in the natural world is as important, as well-recognized by God, as valuable to the discerning eye,, as the greatest and most impressive. Therefore, cultivate a love of the beautiful ; cherish every flower you may. Be sure that whoever truly loves a single flower, whether in the home of wealth or in the Five Points of New York, has in him some recognition of goodness and purity. Never sneer at the humblest stand of flowers ; the poorest specimen. The Gera- nium growing in the broken tea-pot that stands on the dusty sill of a dusty window, in a fever-stricken town, may have a value in the eye of its owner and a power of good over his mind, not to be equalled by the rarest conservatory or the most beautiful garden of a rich man. Do not think that this book is written for the rich, to promote their ease and luxury. It will be a greater satisfaction to me to awaken the class of day-laborers to the value and power of beauty ; to show them how they may arouse in themselves and in those they love, an appreciation of Nature and Nature's gifts to her worship- pers, than to show the rich how they may get a greater return in beauty or fruit for the money they expend on gardens and pleasure grounds. I would impress it on all classes, that loving ennobles and purifies the soul ; loving is of value according to the nobleness of the thing we love ; and he who in his little village-garden grows and loves his flowers for their own purity and nobleness, will receive a richer reward and get a better — because an inward — growth, than he who pours out his money like water to produce rich gardens and costly plants, that they may be external and evident proofs of his wealth and power. CONSERVATORY. 235 Before we leave these winter months, I hope to show both that this is true and that the love and pursuit of agriculture is the le- gitimate occupation of the best portion of our nature. I have described planthouses fit for men of large means. I will now describe a Conservative Pit on a large scale, but not very costly to make or expensive to support, which will return an unlimited amount of satisfaction. Such a pit might be erected on the L roof of a city house, may be large or small, cheap or costly, according to the fancy of the builder. I shall describe it as standing on the ground. Stake out a parallelogram 18 x 30 feet, and dig it out to the depth of 3 feet ; along the front side and at both ends lay a solid stone or brick wall 3 feet high. At the back erect a solid brick or stone wall 3 feet high, and above this a hollow brick wall 24 inches thick and 20 feet high. In the base wall on the front and ends leave openings for ventilators as shown in the plan. In the top of the front side of the back wall leave tubular openings 4 feet apart, as shown in the plan for top-ventilation. All these openings in the walls must have tight covers on the inside, and wire gauze covers where they open into the outer air. The top-ventilators open under the coping of the top of the wall, which will protect them against high winds. In other respects the exterior is made like that of ordinary greenhouses ; the glass roof is divided into two sashes, the upper sliding over the lower. Refer to the plan of the end. e is a door which slides to the right to give entrance ; it is 3 feet higher than the floor of the house, being on a level with the surface of the ground, and steps which curve to the right descend from it to a path (d in the section), 3 feet wide, which leads to the other end of the house. On the left of this walk is the pit. Pit. — Mark out a parallelogram 9 feet wide x the distance be- tween the walk at the foot of the steps and the other end of the house ; lay a tile drain and a pipe for heating the soil, through the length of this parallelogram ; at each corner drive down firm posts; Red Cedar or Locust, or squared stone posts, not less than 3 inches 236 DECEMBER. square in the clear ; to these posts, if of wood, spike closely matched 2-inch planks ; if of stone, fasten by bolts and iron straps _ SECTION OF CONSEEVATIVE PIT. Scale. — One-fourth inch to the foot. a, a, hot-water pipes; 6, table, 3 feet wide; c, plank or slate front to pit; rf, floor of walk —strips of wood or slate ; e, trellis for vines ; /, gravel underdraining for pit ; g-, earth, etc., in pit, 2 feet deep in front, 3 feet behind. CONSEEVATOET. 237 slabs of slate 1^ inches thick; cairy up the planks or slabs 3 feet in front, 4 feet at the back of the ends, sloping Vadually to the front. There is no need of plankmg against the back wall. Fill into the space thus enclosed. END OP CONSEETATIVE PIT. Scale. — One-fourth inch to the foot. a, foundation wall; ft, brick foundation, 3 feet high ; c, double wall, 2 feet thick ; d, tiled slope for the top of the wall, protecting Tcntilation tube ; e, door, 3 feet wide ; f, sliding sash ; g, wooden base ; A, top sash sliding over ; i, lower sash, fixed. 238 DECEMBER. Over these stones lay 6 inches of tough sods, over the sods 3 inches bones and oyster shells, over these 3 inches best loam, over the loam 3 inches of bones etc., as before, and 6 inches well-trod- den, unfermented horse-manure. Fill up to the edges and slope nicely with the best loam you can get. Leave all to settle for a fortnight or two ; then fill up anew with loam. Into the top of the back wall drive a row of staples 4 feet apart ; do the same at the bottom, and between the rows stretch coarse wires for a treUis ; at the foot of each wire plant a choice running Rose (Safrano Tea, La Marque, Cloth of Gold, etc.) ; cut them down witliin two buds of the surface. Over the rest of the pit plant what you like : Lemon Verbenas, Bourbon, Tea, and China Roses, Heliotrope, Sage, Lantana, Verbena, China Orange, and other and smaller plants ; among these Double English Violet, Daisy, Lysimachia, Lycopodium. Set the plants in August, and let them all be small, so that as they grow you may give them shapes as you prefer, h (in the section), on the right of the walk, is a table 3 feet wide and 3 feet high, to hold pot plants, cuttings, boxes of Cucumbers, Melons,, or Strawberries, or any low-growing plants ; under the table carry a double hot-water or steam pipe, with a coupling to connect at will with the pipe under the pit. Do not put on the sashes till late in September, and only then if hard frosts threaten ; after the sashes are on, leave them open and air the house as much as possible ; get what heat is necessary from the sun and the use of the shutters and mats, and do not re- sort to fires while you can avoid it. Keep the temperature as low as 40° to 45°, till the last of December ; gradually increase the heat if you cannot otherwise keep out frost, but rely principally on the increasing heat of the sun as the days lengthen. The plants will begin a slow growth in October, and gradually throw out a few leaves and blossoms till January ; in this interval water sparingly ; as December grows old, give water lukewarm and in greater quantity ; the plants will soon begin to grow vigor- ously. During the rest of the season, till warm weather, water and syringe as in other greenhouses ; keep a moderate temperature during the night, and let the sun heat the house thoroughly during CONSERVATORY. 239 the day; the plants will soon begm to blossom freely. Train the vines on the wire trellises- as fast as they grow : they will grow the better, and you can give them any shape. Here, as in other houses, the plants need fumigating. Once a month give a copious watering of liquid manure, made as before directed. During the coldest weather, connect the pipe which runs under the pit so as to warm the earth below, but only in a moderate de- gree ; it is not desirable to stimulate growth by bottom heat to any great extent, but to give just enough to keep the roots warmed in proportion to the increased heat about the branches. As the spring advances, use the front shelf to start cuttings for bedding out, and to grow plants for the kitchen-garden. Later in spring withdraw fire-heat, and toward the last of April give less and less water. By the first of June take off all the movable sashes, and entirely cease watering, or in droughts water just enough to save the plants from being dried up. Under this treatment they will cease to grow, and will ripen their wood ; when this is efiected, cut them — vines and all — back as much as you judge sufficient to enable them to blossom and grow next season without crowding. If any of them do not suit you, this is the time to substitute others. Cover the top of the pit with a liberal dress- ing of well-rotted manure, and dig it in carefully with a foot or hand fork. After August, follow the directions already given ; i.e., . begin the year again. The fire and boiler-room is not shown here. If the dwelling- house is heated by hot water or steam, its pipes may connect with the pit ; or a simple fine and fireplace may be built at one end and instead of hot pipes, a brick flue, through which all the fire and smoke must pass, may be carried along the ends and front of the house. Water may be caught from the roof, raised from a well, or supplied in whatever way is most convenient ; the fire and cistern, are in a small shed at the back of the house. If the cis- tern is above the level of the floor, a pipe may be led from its bottom to the centre of the house, in order to lessen the labor of carrying water. The cost of a house built on this plan may be greatly increased 240 DECEMBER. or reduced, at the fancy of the proprietor, and will depend on the amount of ornament and finish. When present cheapness is the grand desideratum, substitute for the brick walls double wooden ones, built like those of an icehouse, with a space of a foot, at least, between, into which sawdust is put, or which is back plas- tered. Clapboard on the outside, puttmg tarred paper under the clapboards; inside use tarred paper under sheathing or lath and plaster. Such a wooden house, 18 x 30 feet, can be built now, and in the vicinity of Boston, for about $600 ; a brick house, for $800 to $1000. A person of small means may think I have hardly made good my promise to describe a cheap house, since $1000 for such a pur- pose is scarcely more easily spared than $2000. And, of course, only those who have some balance of money to their credit can afford any planthouse ; such things are out of the question for men whose every moment is spent in struggling for freedom from debt. But for one who can afford it the first cost named is very small in p:?oportion to the return which will surely follow, while the after cost of keeping the house will be very small. It is easily warmed, not requiring more than 3 tons of coal at the utmost, probably not more than 1^ or 2 tons. Most families could manage it without the help of a gardener, there being no necessity for potting or starting slips, no grape vines to be watched, pruned, and thinned. The work is simple, and if you choose, you may carry the plants with which you start through many years. But beware of one error with regard to this house ; viz., the cal- culation that it will pay a portion of its cost, or its running ex- penses, by sales of flowers and plants. Professed gardeners may do this, but the attempt will only bring to an amateur disappoint- ment and annoyance. He will always scrimp himself in cutting flowers, lest he may not have enough for sale, and will never be satisfied if he does not .succeed in making money out of his house ; but if he undertakes it with no expectation of pecuniary return, he will get his pleasure without any disappointment, unless it be the pleasant one of an unexpected surplus, which may bring in a few dollars. CONSEEVATOBY. 241 Window Gardening. — A few plants can be effectually culti- vated on a still smaller scale, and so as to produce a very pleasant result In any rooni where a fire is kept up throughout the win- ter put up a window-case. A bay window is the best for the pur- pose, as it projects and receives sun and light from several sides, but other windows will answer. The above engraving repre- sents a three-sided bay window, projecting. 3 feet beyond the room ; if you can afford it, make a double window of this, with a pane 21 242 BECEMBEB. B /_~ i / \ t in the top of each of the two outer side sashes, swinging on hinges, so that by lower- ing the inside top sash, and opening one or both of these swinging panes,' cold air may be freely admitted to the case. Now cut a piece of 1^ inch planed plank to just fit into the window on one side, and to project into the room as far as you please on the other, where it may be cut into any shape which suits you. In the cut it is of the same shape as the portion within the window, so that the whole is a hexagon. This plank, A, is to be the ceiling. Into its four front corners sink holes to receive the posts, which are to form the frame of the window. (See cut, a', post rebated to hold sash.) The size of the posts is decided by the height of the window, and they are chamfered on the outside to meet the angle of the hexagon, which they are to occupy, and rebated on each side deep enough to hold the sash. Now construct a framework, B, of 2 x 3 planed joist, just the size of the plank ceiling, and with holes corresponding to those in the ceiUng ; countersink in opposite sides, grooves or cuts 1 inch deep and 2 inches wide, 1 foot apart ; into these grooves fit planed slats. As the bay window does not reach the floor cut four 3x4 smoothed joists, to reach from the floor to the sill. Screw them against the four corners of the window. Cut two other posts, c, 3 inches longer than the first four, and halve their tops, so as to make a joint, on which the frame of the floor of the window-case may rest. Have a zinc pan made which will just fit the floor of the case, and make a tight joint all round ; its edges must be turned up 2 CONSEKVATORY. 243 inches to prevent any water spattering over upon tlie floor, with a one-half inch waste pipe in its centre, to discharge water into the pail below. Paint the whole inside wood-work thoroughly, with at least two coats of best zinc paint ; when this is dry, put the pan in its place. Make two small stagings which will fit into as much of the two opposite sides of the case as you please ; they should not be nearer each other than 2 feet, and their shelves should be not less than 5 inches wide, with a rise of 4 inches for all ; or the first 3 inches, and each other step two more than the last. The number of the shelves will depend of course on the ai-ea of the floor ; they may be carried straight across or curved concavely ; the latter being more pleasing though not quite so well for the plants. Against the sides of the window and case you may carry up shelves 1 foot to 18 inches apart, to the very top. Screw some hooks into the ceil- ing from which to hang drooping plants ; they should be hung with cords of different lengths, so that when well grown they may form a kind of arch with the plants on the sides. Paint staguigs and shelves before plants are set on them. From the bottom of the case hang a curtain to conceal the pail — which must stand under the pipe before mentioned — and the various utensils used in man- aging the case. This case is a miniature greenhouse. It will be thoroughly heated by the sun which shines on it during some portion of the day, and if enough of this heat cannot be retained to warm it through the night, the doors should be thrown open to admit the warm air of the room. It should be stocked with a variety of plants. Set near the posts pots of vines, as running Roses, Smilax, Tropeolum, Wax- plant, Solanum, etc. ; on the stagings and in the pan set Gerani- ums, Verbenas, Heliotrope, Lantana, Cuphea, Fuchsia ; in shaded places, Daisies and Violets ; on the shelves, drooping Fuchsias, Mahernias, drooping Heliotrope, Lobelia, Nierembergia, Gilia, etc. ; hang up any you please of these last. Of course you are not confined to these plants, but they are enough to give a good variety ; be careful not to get too many and crowd the case. 244 DECEMBEE. Suppose all this to have been done early in October-, during the rest of the month, and the whole of the next, water sparingly and give plenty of air ; do not induce the plants to grow more than is quite natural. The sun's warmth will be enough for day and night. In December set the bulbs in their glasses into the front of the case ; water sparingly, and on very bright days syringe thoroughly. Still keep the temperature low, not higher by the sun's heat than 75° in the day, and at night let it fal^ as low as 40°. In January water more freely and with tepid water, syringe twice a week, and keep the temperature at night as high as 50°- The plants will now begin to grow. Once a fortnight give weak manure-water. Admit air as often as the outside temperature allows. During the day let the case get as hot as 75° to 80°, and at night fall to 55° ; follow this treatment till spring. Your plants will be healthy, grow strongly, blossom freely. Whenever aphides appear, fumigate three times, allowing an interval of two days for the eggs to hatch ; after each fumigation, syringe well to clear away the dead insects. For your fumigations you may use a small brazier or an alcohol lamp with a wire netting supported over the flame, which should be as small as possible, that the tobacco laid on the netting may burn slowly, and the smoke not be too hot. Any severely cold night frost maybe kept out by shutting up the case, first setting inside a large, lighted solar lamp. Its heat will keep out frost. In late spring take out all plants not trained to the wood-work ; set them in a cool, shady place, and reduce their water till they stop growing. Do not withhold water entirely, or allow the earth to be- come dry in the centre of the pots. When they have thoroughly ripened their wood, cut them down to a convenient size. In August, or at the proper time for each kind of plant, repot, shifting to larger pots if necessaiy ; examine the roots, give fresh earth. Put them into the case again in October ; but before doing this examine and scrub the paint and wood-work ; stop all leaks ; fumigate with sulphur and tobacco of such strength as will kill in- sects and eggs, but not affect the paint. A very neat case of this kind can be made when the win- dow is flush with the room, as in ordinary windows, especially if CONSERVATORY. - 245 the window selected liea,between the chimney-breast and the wall, so that three sides of the case ai-e made by the chimney-breast, the opposite wall, and the intervening window. It is best to have all the sunhght possible ; but sunlight is not indispensable, although abundant daylight is. For this reason, if not for beauty, it is well to have all sides of the case of glass, as the plants thus get more light and grow more symmetrically. A very neat and pretty case of this kind can be built for $15, and stocked for $5 or $10, and once built and stocked it costs noth- ing more while it lasts. Its great advantage over plant-stands for rooms is, obviously, in the facility it offers for excluding dust, for watering, syringing, fumigating, and regulating heat. Such cases may be made on the outside of windows, but unless very carefully built it is impossible to keep them warm enough. The contrivance was suggested by the Wardian Case, — ■ which is another simple and pretty method of growing a few plants in a room. In original theory, the Ward- ian case was air-tight, but in practice this is not necessary ; in- deed, it is found that by considering the case as a small greenhouse, and managing it on greenhouse principles, a more perfect result is secured ; the advantage of the "Wardian case being in equality of temperature and moisture, and in protection from dust, rather than in the exclusion of outside air ; the latter being in fact nearly im- possible, because air will find its way through the earth and pot. It is from badly regulated supply of moisture that room plants mainly suffer. Out-door plants are supplied by rains, by winds, by local currents of air which bring moisture where it is needed ; and the importance of this supply is shown by the stunted and with- ered appearance of vegetation during droughts, when a reduced quantity of water is furnished by the roots, while none can be ob- tained by the leaves from the air. In greenhouses this diffused moisture is artificially supplied. Plants taken from the greenhouse into the room of a dwell- ing, are at once placed in a very dry air, always drier than that out of doors, and in cold weather, made still more so by fire heat ; and the most copious watering at the root will not remedy 21* 246 DECEMBER. this evil, for the roots cannot do the work of the leaves as well as their own, and cannot give the moisture usually furnished by the breathing pores of the leaves. It is clear then, that the dryness of the air is a cause of the com- mon failure in cultivating plants in our rooms. There is, besides, a great deal of dust, ashes, and soot always floating in the air of our houses. This dust is very fine, and abundant enough to injure plants seriously. By shutting plants in close cases from which all currents and circulation of air are excluded, this evil of dust, etc., is removed. Again, plants not only absorb moisture from the air, but also give out a great deal by perspiration, which, in the ordinary course of things, is carried off by the winds. The earth also evaporates freely under a warm sun or a dry wind. Set a glass jar over a pot plant, and this usually invisible process will be demonstrated to the eye. The glass is no hindrance to the sun's rays, which warm the earth and the plant in the pot and draw up moisture through the plant, and also evaporate it directly from the earth. To this mois- ture the glass is a hindrance ; it shuts it all in, and as the sun leaves, and the glass and the air within it cool, the vapor condenses, and runs down the glass to the earth again. This process is re- peated day after day, with no sensible diminution of the moisture in the pot. Plants have been kept in this condition for many months without the addition of a drop of water to the original supply. The evident drawback to such a case is the dimming of the glass by condensation of moisture, — on the inside, when the air without i« cooler than that within — on the outside, when the relation is re- versed. In either case it may be temporarily obviated by a small door in some part of the 'case, by opening which the temperature within becomes the same as that without. A beautiful feature of this arrangement is the power the case has of regulating the heat within, by the process described under the glass jar : the condensation increasing in proportion as the tem- perature within rises above that without, and so shutting out the rays which would soon make the temperature within too high for the health of the plants. As the case cools by the loss of the rays so shut out by the veil of mist, the evaporation ceases to supply material for condensation, — the veil is withdrawn and the sun looks in again. CONSEEVATORV. 247 In such portable greenhouses the most tender and delicate ex- otics, — Ferns, Lycopodiums, etc., — have been grown successfully. Unfortunately, the cost of glass and the inconvenience of having very large cases in our rooms set a hmit to our collection and the size of our plants. I have dwelt on the effect of the sun's rays on the case and its contents, in order to make the process plainer ; but direct sunlight is not essential to a perfect case, and by keeping the case out of the sun during the greater part of the time, the condensation and con- sequent dimming of the glass may be avoided. Wardian cases of every shape have been made to suit the taste of cultivators. Not only are plants preserved in the best condition by these means, but cut flowers may be kept under similar glasses for a much longer time than in the ordinary way. In the middle of a shallow glass dish set a bouquet in an appropriate glass ; pour an inch or two of water into the dish, and cover the bouquet with a bell-glass, which will shut down into the water, and make the space within really air-tight The flowers will preserve then* freshness for a marvellously long time. The cut shows a Wardian case> "The stand is 22 inches high, and fitted with a groove all round, to hold the box ; the glazed top or cover is 19 inches high; whole height of case, 4 feet 2 inches." The sides are of ma- hogany, the bottom of pine, 1-J inches thick ; the upper edge of the box is furnished with a groove, to receive the glass roof, and this groove is lined with brass to pre- vent the rotting of the wood. The roof frame is of brass, and is glazed mth the very best flattened crown glass ; the 248 DECEMBER. brass astragals are grooved for the reception of the glass — not rebated as in ordLuary glazing. The case is 3^ feet long by 2 feet. Eyed studs are cast on the inside of the ridge astragal, about half an inch in length, to sustain small orchids or ferns from the roof; the box is lined with copper, and from one corner a copper tube, 2 inches long, and furnished with a cock, leads off all superfluous moisture." " One of the panes in the roof is made to draw out, being less firmly set than the others in the groove of the astragal ; this is nec- essary for the occasional arrangement of the plants, though the' general arrangement is made by removing the entire top." This latter, however, is seldom necessary, as " plants, both in pots plunged in moss, and planted out in proper soil, and well drained below, have been kept in a healthy state for nine months without removal." " B is a very elegant plant case, which might stand in a hall, or the centre or corner of a drawing-room. An iron or earthen pot, with a groove cast in the upper surface, which holds the glass cover ; in the middle set an earthen stand, with an iron standard to hold small orchids or other hanging plants. It may drain through the bottom. C is a wire basket for holding flowers and plants, either with or without a cover ; the stand and bottom of the basket are of CONSEKVATOET. 249 iron or wood ; the sides of wire outside, and zinc in ; the bottom channeled, to allow the water to pass ofiF by a small pipe. Such a movable case is very beautiful, and is easily arranged and cared for." Another very delightful and instructive companion and ornament for the house or conservatory is the Aquaeium. — The very general interest in, and knowledge of, the aquarium renders it unnecessary for me to enter minutely into a dis- cussion of the principles to be observed in making and managing it. It must not be supposed that because it is a means of growing aquatic plants it is therefore the complement of the Wardian case, where we grow land plants, and to be managed on the same principles ; for not only is it necessary to introduce animals into an aquarium in order to make its plants thrive, but its great purpose is to make us familiar with aquatic animals, and they are its main attraction, the plants being secondary, though essential. An aquarium can be made in any water-tight, open-mouthed vessel, but the habits of the plants and animals can be studied much bettet if the sides of the vessel are of glass. Water in which aquatic plants are cultivated soon grows foul, and its surface is covered with green slime, and this was the great difficulty to be overcome in establishing the aquarium. In 1842, Dr. Johnson, an English naturalist, mentioned, in a work on Sponges, that having placed in a jar of sea-water plants and branches of sea-weeds, to some of which minute shell fish were attached, he found that not only did the water remain clear, but the plants and animals throve perceptibly. In 1845, Mr. Ward, the inventor of the Wardian case, announced to the scien- tific world that he had succeeded in growing sea-weeds even in water artificially prepared. Since that time the attention of natur- alists has been strongly directed to aquariums, and some of the earlier establishments were so successful and charming as to arouse an immediate and wide-spread enthusiasm on the subject, and re- cent periodical literature has abounded with articles ^bout it. The first step was the discovery that when the plants introduced into jars of fresh water had snails attached to them, or those in salt water, periwinkles, the water did not become foul or filled with 250 DECEMBER. conferviE. This attracted attention to these animals both in con- finement and in their native Waters, and then it appeared that they are the scavengers of the refuse of the waters ; and a little reflec- tion showed the observer that a sea, a lake, a pond is but a large aquarium, in which each animal and plant contributes something to the support of all, and that his aquarium, to be successful, must copy nature's. The plants in water supply by their exhalations oxygen to the animals, who in return furnish the plants with car- bonic acid ; the decaying vegetable refuse becomes food for snails and minute animalcules, which are eaten by small fish, and they, in their turn, by large. The whole life of the waters is like an end- less chain, which, when broken into parts, is valueless for its origi- nal purpose. The result of these observations is the rule that the plants are the first thing to be established in the aquarium ; that as soon as they have fairly begun to grow, snails must be put in, then insects and fish. Then we can watch — as it were from beneath the waters — tlie whole miracle of life, death, and reproduction, which is perpetually wrought in the unseen depths of ocean and lake. The beauty of the aquarium depends on the beauty of the veg- etable and animal forms within, and as motion lends such an addi- tional charm to all things, the fish and other animals are the most beautiful and bewitching portion of the stock, and every owner of an aquarium is eager to increase this portion. The number of plants is obviously limited ; there can be but few species and vari- eties even in a large tank, and their beauty is injured by crowding ; but it is hard to believe that animals may not be added at pleasure, as they occupy little room, and are constantly changing their quar- ters. But the laws of animal life are inflexible ; they set a fixed limit to the number of animals which may be kept in good condi- tion, as they do to the number of persons who can comfortably use a room ; and by the same rule ; viz., their proportion to the amount of oxygen supplied, whether in the tank or the room. Think of the air in a crowded lecture-room, and you will understand the condition of an aquarium overstocked with animal life. Within its narrow compass the limit is quickly reached, and the first mis- CONSERVATORY. 251 take of all who start aquariums is in overstocking with animals. Their shapes, colors, and movements, ai"e so fascinating, that it is hard to resist the inclination to put in every one we. find. I am not at all competent to define these limits, or even to name the many wonderful and beautiful things to be found in every col- lection of water. I shall content myself with giving some of the results of my experience, and shall leave the reader to elaborate these general directions for himself. For several reasons, I urge every one who has a little spare time and money to make an aquarium for himself. It unlocks to the mind a new world, it takes us into the secrets of nature. A growing plant is a beautiful sight : its gradual increase, its healthy color, its stretching branches, budding leaves, opening flowers, are wonderful and lovely ; and the repetition of this process over the whole facp of the earth, or over a single acre even, is not less marvellous ; but we cannot grasp and comprehend it as we can the process within our aquariums ; we live in it, we are a part of it. We cannot form a miniature earth, which we may watch from without, and into which we may successively introduce plants, insects, beasts, birds, men, and watch and enjoy their growth and devel- opment ; for we are ourselves members of the system, and cannot get outside to look at it from afar with observing and discriminating eye. But we can isolate a part of this whole, and make a minia- ture world of waters, which we may control and keep under con- stant observation. It is curious that we should possess this power over that portion of the system which ordinarily baffles our obser- vation most completely. We see the waters about us, sail over them, bathe in them, make constant use of them, admire their colors, motions, reflections ; in our enthusiasm we call water the eye of Nature, because it in a peculiar way lights up her face and gives it expression. But our acquaintance is with the surface only. Of the rich beauty and wonders of the depths below we get - no more than occasional ^ ghmpses ; yet these, momentary as they are, show us plants and animals as delicate, as beautiful as any thing in the land life from which they so strangely differ. Our delighted and wondering 252 DECEMBER. imaginations are at once busy in peopling those unseen depths, and the vain-glorious theory that beauty was made for man's delight disappears in the face of the fact that in those waters where man can never go there is just as overflowing an abundance of beauty as on the land ; a beauty, too, which seems rather intended to es- cape human eyes, for the fish or plant is no sooner raised from its native element than its life and beauty depart. The great fact is hardly modified by the few exceptions in the way of aquariums, which show us such mere fragments of the aquatic life. Little as these contrivances show us in relation to the whole, that relative little is in itself immense, and is besides so per- fect a reproduction of the system of that whole, that we are justified m saying that it unlocks to us the secrets of the world of waters. Make your aquarium. Cover the bottom of your vessel — be it bathing tub, water pail, glass jar, or proper tank — with two or three inches of clean sand and pebbles, taken from brook or pond, or from the sea^shore, if your collection is to be marine ; set in this such plants as you please. Suppose your collection to be of fresh water ; get stones covered with graceful, exquisite lichens and algae ; from the river bring the Bladderwort, the Pond-weed, Duck-weed, Eel-grass; put in at the same time a few snails, and fill the vessel with water. You feel that you have nothing as yet; the plants are indeed beautiful, but there is nothing that seems to you like life. Leave the aquarium for a few hours, till the water has cleared ; now examine it. There, swaying on the graceful top of that plant, is a group of Hydras, stretching their tentacles in every direction in search of food ; from that folded leaf starts out the restless crimson spider Hydracula, or the water-boatman, which are to the water what swallows are to the air ; on that stone is a bryazooa, or a jelly fish ; the snails are creeping up the glass with a smoothness of motion curiously fasci- nating ; look closer and you will see their little tongues, like reap- ing-hooks, gathering up every particle of vegetable decay within their reach. You find that without having intentionally got a single fish or highly organized animal, you have before your won- CONSEBVATOET. 253 dering eyes a life and a variety which you may spend hours in watching. Now add a few silver perch, bream, or shiners, a stickle-back, an eel, or a leech, a gold or silver fish, a water newt ; and the circle is complete. Add as you please. I cannot tell what is the proper number, but your observation may. When you see the fish come often to the surface, gasping, they ai-e too many for your plants, and some of them must be removed. If any have died, draw off the water through a syphon, remove the fish, and supply fresh water, and repeat this process till the equilibrium of animal and vegetable life is established. If green slime collects on the glass, get more snails ; they wiU soon dispose of it. But kgep no worms or Crustacea, however curious, which are always hiding under the stones or bur- rowing in the sand, for they only foul the water, without furnishing instruction or pleasure. What an immense field of delight and research such a collection opens. Already the aquarium has given an impulse to the study of natural science, has drawn into these pursuits many who were previously repelled by the dry system of the books, the array of hard words, that brought up to the mind no distinct images. It is teaching us observation, training a faculty that has been sadly neglected in our modem systems of education ; and were this its only use it would still be invaluable as a promoter of healthy science. I know of no cheaper and better, material for a tank than slate and glass. The slate is easily worked for bottom and posts, and the joints can be made tight with the best Roman or Portland cement, laid on with the smallest sized mason's trowel, or with a tin trowel, made to order ; or they may be packed with Eed Lead and oil, and over this a solution of rough Gutta Percha, in common Resin, thinned with Turpentine, may be painted. If the cement is not kept well moistened while it is setting it will crack. The cut shows such an aquarium in elevation, a ground plan of the base, and an outline of one of the corner posts. When made of slate and glass they need not cost more than $3. 22 254 DECEMBER. It will be seen that I by no means look on this as a mere amusement for an idle mind, or as a mere orna- ment ; though it IS among the best and most inexhaustible amusements, and the most elegant ornaments, and as such is quite in place in the con- servatory ; the more so as aquatic plants form one of the marked features in it. These plants, curi- ously enough, are no- wise particular about the quality of the soil in which they grow, but seem to flourish equally well in the richest mud and in the poorest sand ; and whilst on land manure and stimu- lation are the watch-words of successful culture, in the water neither is of any consequence. I hope I have succeeded, in the preceding pages, in making clear what are the obstacles to successful plant culture, and how they may be overcome ; too much heat, too much water, too much med- dling, is ruinous to house plants ; yet constant and assiduous pains must be taken to ensure healthy and satisfactory specimens. It will more often be found that plants thrive in the cold rooms of the poor, than in the heated houses of the rich, because during most of the winter, plants iii a state of nature grow little or none, all that they need being protection from frost. The cool rooms of the poor, Ul ventilated as they are, furnish more fresh air than can CONSEBVATOEY. 255 survive the furnace heat and constant dust of the better class of houses. With a little judgment and care every one may have some kind of plant during the winter, as a link between the past and the future, to carry us hopefully over that desert season. CHAPTER XXXm. GRAPERY. Untie the vines in the forcing-house and cold-grapery from the trellises, and lay them down on the ground, covering with bass mats. In the cold-grapery keep the temperature up by lire and sun, night and day, but not much above freezing, say 40°. In the forcing-house give more heat ; let the mercury rise in the daytime as high as 55° or 60°, and do not let it fall at night below 40°- The fruit is now ripe in the retarding-house, and must be pre- served with care and watchfulness ; some fire will be necessary to save it from frost. These directions will be mtich the same for the next two months. The same temperature prescribed for grapes is suitable for the fruit trees in the graperies. They lost their leaves in October and November, and should have been pruned then ; if this was neg- lected, do it now as soon as possible. The directions given for pruning espaliered out-of-door trees, are to be followed in the houses, and further directions will be given hereafter. The out-of-door treatment of trained Peach-trees is nearly the same with that of Pears; any necessary variations will suggest themselves to the gardener in the course of practice. I will in another place describe the peculiarities of Peach culture more in detail. In many parts of New England, where the chmate is too cold to permit the favorable growth of Peaches in the usual man- ner, they may be trained to espaliers with great success. It is difficult, in this country, to obtain the best evidence as to the relative merits of different houses for the culture of Peaches, Apricots, and Nectarines. , Those persons who have such houses are either the few wealthy, who leave their arrangement and management to gardeners, who 256 GRAPERY. 257 being generally men of no cultivation and acquainted with no method except that followed in the particular house where they worked before, have neither the observation to detect, nor the con- trivance to remedy, the defects of that method, and can therefore conceive of no improvement on the kind of house they are familiar with ; or they are poor men who grow fruit to sell, and must there- fore content themselves with cheap houses, and refrain from any experiments, however likely to be improvements on ordinary fruit- houses or ordinary methods. In shorty American enterprise and invention have not turned in this direction. In England, on the other hand, the culture of fruit under glass has been carried to the highest point, and the houses and trees are sans reproehe in all those estabUshments that pretend to take a high rank. We must, therefore, examine the Enghsh houses and systems of planting, pruning, and training, for our models, though different cultivators differ so much in their methods, that we shall find it dif- ficult to select the best from the variety offered to our choice. I shall describe several kinds of houses, either of which will prove successfiil. Fruit trees may be cultivated either in tubs or in borders, and the treatment differs according to their position. I shall first de- scribe those in borders. Fruithouses. — The oldest, simplest, and cheapest houses for this purpose have been found to be better than any others, if some modem improvements are added. These improvements are chiefly in the ventilation, which in the first houses was extremely defective. No plants subjected to hothouse culture are so imperious in their demands for sufficient pure" air as fruit-trees. Some cultiva- tors in Europe are accustomed to remove the sashes entirely at certain seasons, in order to admit the largest possible amount of air. Such a system is, however, rude, ill-judged, and unnecessary. The accompanying figure. A, shows one of the earliest forms of peachhouse, and originated in* Denmark; it is from 30 to 40 feet long, by 9 feet high, and 6 feet wide at the bottom. The top sash is short, and slides down over the lower ; the back wall is brick, and chambered with flues for hot air ; the front may be of wooden 22* 258 DECEMBER. posts driven into the ground, in lieu of brick. In front is a hot air flue. The trees are planted in the soil c. A great difficulty with this house was entire want of good ventilation. The tuees are planted within 12 inches of the back wall, and are warmed by the hot air in the chambers ; thus the wall is warmed gently, and the house is kept as hot as you please, by the front flue. This house may be improved by adding a stone foundation, both as a security against frost, and an assistance in drainage ; and by making openings through the wall, b b; one into the hot air flue below, to warm the air of the house, as before described ; the other conveying the hot air away out of doors. If the back wall is carried up a little higher, and the ventilating tube turned upward, it will be still better. Such a house would give large crops of early fruit ; or by omitting the fires, it could be used as a cold-house, which would ripen the fruit in July and August. All plants, however, which are so far removed from the light, thrive slowly in comparison with those brought directly to the glass. B is another cheap house, but better than the last. The trees are here trained within 1 foot of the glass, a is a slanting roof, either of wood, slated, or of glass. This gives the trees good head room. In this case, as in the last, the foundations and ventilators are added to the original plan, and the former may be of wood, supported by wooden posts instead of brick. This house is wider than the last, to allow the extra head room, and con- sequently higher at the same pitch. The pitch must y^ry in this latitude accord- ing to the season of the year when the greatest heat is desirable. GEAPERY. 259 " C is a very good house, heated by hot water. It may be of any length; the pitch is 30°. The front sash and parapet wall are 3 feet 9 inches from the ground to the top of the spout or water-gutter. The spout serves both as a plate to support the rafters and also to convey the water which falls on the roof. The plates and rafters are metallic, but may be as well made of wood. The table trel- lising is supported by ^=^ small stone or brick posts ; the roots of the ^ trees on the curved trel- lis extend out through the arches of the front wall to the border in front of the house. The hot-water pipes h, b, are supported on brick pillars, and run parallel to the front and end walk, 2 feet from the table-trellis. The boiler is in a niche in the back wall, and is managed from a shed. The back treUis springs from within 9 inches of the back wall, and slopes as shown in the drawing. The whole trellis is composed of iron rods, 6 inches apart." " D is a very good span- roofed peach house ; standards grown in the middle ; dwarf varie- ties on the sides ; heated by hot-water or steam pipes a, a; ventilated through the ridge b, b, also by sliding sashes in front, and by openings c, c, against the pipes. The sashes are entire, but may be made mov- 260 DECEMBER. able. Such a house should have its length running north and south ; the sides should be as high as the angle of pitch will allow, to give the lower branches abundant room ; the ridge should therefore be from 12 to 14 feet from the ground." Span-roofed houses are un- questionably the best for fruit trees, and would be in general use, if it were not for the iron band of prejudice. In such houses Peaches could also be grown in boxes or pots, thus prolonging the season. " E is an interior per- spective view of a very ; . successful range of houses at Everingham Hall, England. The trees are trained over the whole back wallj and over the curved trellis in front. Gable trellises might be set up at the ends, or the vines carried up the rafters ; in these two ways a large addition to the training space would be secured, and the fruit in these posi- tions would be better than the rest." The back part of the front trellis should be rather higher than given in the cut, although it would then shade the lower part of the trees on the back wall ; this is of little conse- quence, as but little fruit grows on those branches. Cherry, Plum, Fig, and Apricot houses are similar in character to those just described, and are to be built on the same principles. The trees in them should, however, be principally in tubs, as it is always rather difficult to get a perfectly satisfactory assortment, and if in the ground it is difficult to make changes and alterations. This may be done with ease when the plants are in pots. The plan F, is the only one I shall give for this kind of house. These fruits, GKAPEET. 261 except the Cherries, may be grown in lower houses than Peaches, and the houses should, if possible, be span roofed. "House F is very- much like D ; a, a, a, a, are the ventilators ; b, h, shelves for Strawber- ries, etc. The floor is of slate slabs, or strips of plank. Sashes may slide or not, as you please. The side ven- tilators are 1x3 feet, and should be opened and shut all together, c, c, are side lights. If the top sashes are fixed, the openings in the ridge should be 10 inches wide. The de- tails of construction, ventilation, etc., are the same as for the houses before described." In all cases I have introduced the improved ventilation into the proper place. Having devoted as much space to this subject as this month will allow, I shall defer a detailed account of the proper treatment of the houses till the next months. CHAPTER XXXIV. KITCHEN-GAEDEN. There is no call upon the gardener's time in December, in the actual garden, if the directions for the last month were carefully fol- lowed. During this month, air the spring Salads, Cabbages, etc., when- ever opportunity offers. In the middle of mild days, open the ridges of vegetables and take out supplies for the family, or the market, and then close them immediately. Continue to pile in heaps, for manure, dried leaves and haulm. Collect, if the cellar is over fiUed, a pile of manure in the garden for summer use. Get the hotbeds in order for spring, and if there are any to be built, make the plans and get the materials. They may be made in the workshop, and not carried out till it is time to put them to- gether for use. For directions see January " Kitchen-Garden." Prune Goose- berries and Currants ; mulch Strawberries ; lay down and cover with earth Raspberries ; remove to greenhouse or grapery Figs and Fruit trees in tubs. At the close of the last month, I said I should describe the proper treatment of kitchen-gardens laid out on sloping and irregular surfaces, at some other time. I shall hardly find a more convenient time than the present. Economy and convenience, considerations which are potent in the kitchen-garden, generally induce us to lay it out in squares and rectangles, but these very motives may lead us to arrange a partic- ular garden in an entirely different manner. For instance, if it were on the side of a hill, it is plain that under the ordinary method some of the paths must ascend the steepest part of the hill, and consequently be very difficult to make, to keep in order, or use. 262 KITCHEN-GARDEN. 263 And here let me say, that however desirable it may be to have some sloping ground within the limits of the kitchen-garden, the whole area should never be of that character, except from necessity. Paths — Their Construction. — On the side of a hill, then, the paths must not be straight, but must follow the surface, and wind round the bases of the smaller elevations, across rather than up the hill, — must, in short, foUow the easiest line of ascent. The greatest difficulty in making them — and very troublesome it is — is their liability to be washed by rains ; for they become water courses to carry away the water from the beds, and the lighter bits of gravel are washed off, and they are left rough, stony, and un- sightly. In England, they are often covered with a mixture of tar, asphaltum, and gravel, which of course cannot be washed away ; but this is very costly, and, besides, the heat of our summer sun softens the tar and asphaltum, so that it runs and sticks to the foot in a most annoying way. Another method is to pave such paths, and if this is well done, it never needs repairing ; but it is costly, and besides seems out of place among grass and green trees. Again, such paths have been made entirely of oyster shells, which do not wear into such small pieces as to be washed, and which allow water to percolate freely into the drainage below ; but they, too, have their peculiar drawbacks. No material is so satisfactory as gravel, could the washing be avoided. Much may be done by making the path higher in the middle than at the sides, so that water can run off laterally into small paved gutters. If the hill is very steep, raise bars a few inches high to cross the paths diagonally at intervals, and check the current as well as turn it to the gutters. Occasional openings may be made from the side gutters into the grass land, where the soil is clayey, boggy, or peaty, for its texture will be improved by the gravel washed on. Nobody can afford to make such paths poorly. Dig them Qut deep, and fill in principally with stones ; cover with rather coarse, and finish with the finest and hardest gravel. Then roll often, watering freely from the rose of the watering-pot. If the mate- rial is good, and the work well done, there will be but little w^sh. 264 DECEMBER. These directions apply to oi-namental grounds as well as to kitchen-gardens. Having made the paths, put in the slate edgings for the beds, that the loam may not wash out of them into the paths. For the rest, the arrangement of the garden should be much the same as on level ground, with the exception that aU rows should, when possible, be carried across the slope, in order to check the wash, and collect and save the lighter particles of earth. With the same view, strips of grass may be left transversely to the line of slope.- A kitchen-garden is especially for use, must be watched and worked over constantly, and, except on very small estates, is to be looked at with a purely practical eye, so located and laid out that without regard to beauty or variety it may answer best its practical purpose. But on a piece of land too small to admit of one por- tion's being devoted to practical, and another to ornamental pur- poses, beauty and profit must both be got from the same land. So there arises another kind of kitchen-garden, where economy and convenience are no longer the sole considerations that govern, but where the arrangement is made with an eye to beauty, the three harmonizing like pedestal, shaft, and capital, in a column, or like stem, leaves, and flowers, on a plant. This garden cannot by means of hotbeds, espaliers, and the other appliances which wealth commands, produce fruit and vegetables in long succession, and most perfect in kind and quality. It cannot show beds rich both in foreign and native shrubs and flowers, but must be content with few varieties ; and perhaps their bloom will be brief, instead of ex- tending through every month of the growing year. Its trees are of the commonest kinds, and can soon be counted, but every tree, shrub, and flower, is loved and watched with an interest unknown on a large estate, and out of this familiar acquaintance will come blessed influences over the owner, his family, and his friends. A v^ry small piece of ground may do much toward furnishing the table, still more toward furnishing the mind, if it be used for but one purpose. But both may be combined, and while the appetite for food is supplied, the equally instinctive hunger for beauty need not go unsatisfied. KITCHEN-GARDEN. 265 I recommend to any person, — however humble his means, how- .ever narrow his land, — if he must choose between beauty and profit, between flowers and shrubs on the. one hand, and vegetables and fruit on the other, to have beauty. If your garden plot is not large enough for both flowers and vegetables, devote it solely to the flowers. I know that this advice is directly opposed to the common opin- ion, which holds that all the land in the possession of a man not really, rich, should be made " to pay," to feed, or in some way sup- port the bodily life of his family. But I hope I have already clearly stated that which I shall urge more and more, that the chief consideration in managing any piece of land should be how it may give the largest amount of beauty consistent with necessary convenience and economy. Potatoes and Apples you may buy about as cheap as you can grow them, and you will buy them if you do not grow them, to keep body and soul together. Beauty can only be bought at the most extravagant prices, and if it is not cultivated at your home, will hardly be bought ; there is no physical appetite to clamor for it, and common economy begins by dispens- ing with it I have something more to say about this which you may find under " Ornamental Grounds." 23 CHAPTER XXXV. ORCHARD AND FARM. Continue to prune, as directed last month, unless the weather is severely cold. Not that the cold would injure the trees in pruning, but that the work would be so disagreeable that it would probably be imperfectly done. Be careful to cover the stumps of any large branches with the mixture of shellac and alcohol, as it will keep out the cold and rain, and prevent any tendency to canker. As the mixture is fluid, it is easily applied, even in the coldest weather. You will remember that I closed my last month's farming direc- tions by saying that I should devote the winter months to the gen- eral subject of farming. First, let us dispose of the work in hand. The cold will soon become severe, therefore take advantage of the sunny days to turn the young and dry stock out into the yard, and throw to them, on the snow (or if there is no snow, enclose in racks), a supply of Corn fodder, or coarse Hay. Cattle will eat up in this way a great deal of material that would otherwise be valueless, except as bedding or manure. The appetite is whetted by the cold, and, besides, all ani- mals like to have occupation. Nothing is more agreeable to neat cattle, in warm weather, than when standing in the shade, or up to their bellies in water, to chew the cud whilsl they thrash off the flies. But the most romantic heifer could find but little pleasure in lying down in the snow to chew its cud ; they will, therefore, browse round, and pick oflT the leaves from the Corn stalks, chew old huts too hard to be even smelled of in the barns, and hunt out the sweet stalks among the driest meadow hay. Let them remain out only during the warmest part of the day. Do not turn the milch cows out at all, if the weather is sharp ; and when, on sunny days, they go out, do not let them stay long enough to get chilled. The econ- 266 THE FARM. 267 omy of farming is now to be practised ; you have harvested the crops, now how can you use them to the best advantage ? Cut every thing you feed out ; Hay, of course, as it is more eco- nomical, and more digestible. Stalks, by all means, as they will be more readily eaten, and the refuse, when turned to the pigs, will, as we have seen, decay more . readily. Occasionally throw a handful of Corn into the manure heap. The pigs will scent it, and root for it, and thus work the manui'e and loam over much more thoroughly than when, without any such object, they merely root for practice. Shut off the water of irrigation as soon as the fields are fairly covered with ice. The weather is now both cold and steady, and promises us ample time to kill and cure pork and beef; if this is done in cold weather they will be sweeter, and keep better than when stored at any other time. For home use, do not let your pigs get over fat ; kill them when they are between one year and eighteen months old. If they have been well fed, and have grown rapidly, they will be in the best con- dition for use. Too fat pork, or indeed too fat meat of any kind, is most unwholesome food ; and although the annual premium offered at the county show may stimulate the farmer to get his creatures as fat as possible, and the irrational practice on the part of the butchers, who pay the best prices for the fattest cattle, may tempt him to gain this profit, yet the practice of over-fattening is bar- barous, and unwholesome, and my advice to you is, by all means, if you must fatten, to sell the animals to such as like them, and keep for your own consumption the more healthily developed specimens. I will not here enter into an argument to prove this point; it has been again and again settled beyond dispute, and on purely scientific principles, in treatises devoted to the subject. As the fowls get fat dispose of them ; there will be no profit in winter fattening. Keep them warm, and well fed, and they will lay regularly through the winter. Vary the food of the sheep and cattle you are fattening, occasionally ; it keeps the appetite better and ensures quicker development. Occasionally look into the fruit room ; keep out the frost, and be sure that the barrels are always closed at once, after being opened 268 DECEMBEK. to take out fruit. Any admission of air is likely to hasten decay. It is very common to open a barrel of apples and keep it open till its contents are all gone. The rotting process is so rapid that the owner often blames the packer for it, when the fault is really in the careless keeping which has produced just the effect that might have been anticipated. The barrelled fruit having been artificially preserved for a season, is subjected, when least able to resist it, to the very worst influence. Buy sheep and oxen to eat up the crops of Hay and Roots accumulated, and sell aU poor, dry cows, to be re- placed by better. Watch the market carefully, and sell fruit and vegetables whenever they command a fair price ; do not be deluded into wait- ing for a possible increase of price, when you can sell so as to be remunerated for your labor and expense. It is a species of gamb- ling in which, your articles being perishable, the chances are all against you. Pay off all the laborers except one man at the stables, a gardener, and a boy. Continue the overhauling and repairing of all tools, etc., and bring your farming account up square, so as to see the probable profit or loss, for a guide for the next year's operations. The next year's work should always be the result of careful de- liberation ; and if each day's work is not indeed accurately forseen and provided for, yet each must take its place as it comes, as part of a methodical whole ; a whole which would not be systematic, but only irregular and annoying, if any of the cogs of the great wheel of life should not fit into its proper groove as the wheel re- volves. " Farming is a dog's life, and is unprofitable in New England at any rate." This is the text of all village gossip ; of farmers at the stores and in their barns, and too often in their clubs, and at the county meetings. It is hinted at directly or indirectly in half our agricultural periodicals, and openly asserted in the rest of our cur- rent literature. Farming not Drudgery. — Farming is looked upon as a necessary occupation, and well enough as a substratum to soci- ety, and farmers are considered as the raw material for the produc- THE FARM. 269 tion of mechanics, merchants, men of letters, soldiers, sailors, and loafers. In their position as farmers they are deserving of pity, and they must each and all struggle with all their might to better their condition, by escaping from their present life. This may be a strong expression of the prevailing opinion, but it is in the main a correct one. And this opinion I pronounce to be false and un- worthy, though I must acknowledge that the practice of the agri- cultural community gives too much ground for it. It is true that we have a very difBicult soil to cultivate — some- times stony, sometimes sterile, — a soil that needs a great deal of artificial stimulus in the way of manure, but with the proper culture the crops are on an average larger than on the more favored lands of the south and west ; it is a common thing for our farmers to get from 60 to 80 bushels of Indian Com, 20 of Wheat, 30 or 40 of Rye, to the acre. And when this crop is harvested it is at its market; so that the cost of transportation is very light, and the difference between outlay at the farm and the market-price is nearly clear profit. We have to work hard for these crops and to harvest three tons of hay to the acre is no child's play. , It must be done under a hot sun, and often hurried almost beyond human endurance, to avoid the threatening showers. But when harvested it is worth money enough to pay well for the trouble, and when sold, in the form of beef or milk, will return an ample profit to the farmer. It would be foolish to deny that the chief consideration that de- termines a young man in the choice of a profession, apart from special taste, is a pecuniary one, and most men will turn from one in which the daily gain is small or uncertain. But the daily gain is not always a just criterion. Let us look into this matter for a few moments. A farmer hires his farm servant at a cost of from 75 cents to $1.25 per day, while he pays the mechanic who comes to mend his barn from $2 to $2.50 for his day's work, which is shorter than the farmer's. So far the advantage seems to be on the side of the me- chanic. But the mechanic's work is one of great uncertainty, employed as he is only for a few days at a time, now here, now there, now nowhere. The farm servant, on the other hand, is 23* 270 DECEMBER. employed without variation in price for many months, knows what to rely upon, and what will be the wear and tear. His net earnings may be laid aside with a feeling of certa,inty that he will get renewed and steady employment the next year ; business may be dull, mechanics idle, but farms must be cultivated. Then his work is, taking the year through, no harder than that of the journeyman mechanic, though it may seem so at first sight. The length of the summer's day is compensated by the shortness of the winter's one. He gets up at 4 in summer, and goes in the clear, cool morning to milk the cows and clean the stables ; no hard work, surely. With a hearty appetite he eats a substantial breakfast, and then goes out to plough or dig, sow or reap. Mowing and reaping are very hard work ; but they are the hardest in farming, and after all are no worse than running a saw or pushing a plane all day. Take all the working days together, the ten hours of mechanics' work is more fatiguing and wearing upon the mind and body than the farmers' longer day. You will find it so, farmers, if you change and try it. If the farm servants would work for 10 hours with the diligence and perseverance with which good mechanics labor in order to receive the best wages, they would do more in that time than is ordinarily accomplished in twelve or sixteen. I will not pursue this train of thought ; any one may carry it on for himself, and however contrary to the general theory, I think any person who carefully compares all classes of labor, will find that the farm servant's work is no more severe than that of any other journeyman. Having decided then on the equality in hard labor between farming and other occupations, and having seen that the greater wages of the mechanic are balanced by the steadier employ- ment of the farmer, we now find on further examination that in every other respect the farmer's life is to be preferred. His work is healthful, being out of doors in the fresh air, and is agreeable, from the pleasant objects it constantly brings before him, and from its variety. And this superiority is still more apparent when we look at the comparative success of different occupations. An examination of the careers of those who begin life as journeymen in any trade, will show us that the percentage of those who ever rise above that THE FAEM. 271 condition into one of pecuniary ease is extremely small. Sufficient means at the outset to give a good education, and a small capital, will increase the chances of success, but even with this advantage the per centage continues small. The risks in any kind of business are so great, and the outlay required so disproportioned to any im- mediate return, that young men without large capital or peculiar opportunities stand a poor chance of doing any thing more than gaining a bare livelihood. Moreover, when having laid up a small sum he ceases to be a journeyman and sets up for himself, his little earnings will be much better invested in hiring or buying a small piece of land, and will give a much surer prospect of a good return, than if spent in tools for a mechanic's work, or laid out in stock for any kind of business. A little calculation will show that there can be no better invest- ment for a steady and enterprising young man, than to buy a few acres of land, paying what ready money he can, and giving a mort- gage for the rest. He pays no rent or interest to another, but to himself; and instead of putting his savings into some outside in- vestment, which must always be more or less insecure, he puts them into his land, which is sure to give a good return. I recom- mend this course to any young man who is prudent and earnest in his work, and am certain of his success ; for not only is he more sure of his interest, but it may be made compound as it were, nay, even greater in its rate of increase, when put into high farming. Rich manure, good drains, thrifty young orchards, etc., pay each year an increasing percentage on the money invested in them. To make the previous statement more definite, let us enter into a calculation. Whether he engages a fann near a city or in the coun- try, he will easily get one for- six per cent on its value, per annum. Let the farm be worth $3,000, the rent will be $180. The size will vary from 10 to 100 acres, according to the locality. Were he a mechanic or a day laborer he must pay at least $50 rent, which reduces the excess of rent for the cultivated farm to $130 per annum. He had $500 which he invests in stock and tools, — interest $30, — or whole interest more than a journeyman me- chanic would pay, $160. This farm ought to net over cost of cultivation $500, besides the 272 DECEMBER. milk and vegetables consumed by the family ; — less rent of culti- vated land gives $340 for his year's wages, — earned for himself, subject to no master, and in the fresh air. If he had worked as a mechanic, he would not have received for wages more than $400, with the best of luck; — $340 less $50 rent of house, gives $290, — this goes for household expenses. He will lay up a little of this, which invested in his farm will pay tenfold. If he buys his farm upon mortgage he will pay off the cost of the farm as he saves, or he will make improvements in culture, drainage, and stock, that will give him every year a much larger balance ; the first year is the smallest earning ; and in an ordinary life time, if he be expedi- tious, careful, and energetic, he will accumulate $10,000 to $15,- 000 in money or improvements, besides educating .his family and living well. Any prudent, industrious, and willing Yankee can do this in New England if he farms as he ought to ; and but very few merchants, professional men, or mechanics do more ; and the aver- age not as well. I. have considered the question only from a pecuniary point of view ; and this is the least important. In the next month, I will speak of the higher benefits and advantages of a farmer's life. CHAPTER XXXVI. ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS. In the " Kitcljen-Gai-den " I said that beauty should be the dis- tinguishing feature of every homestead, its aim and spirit, its warp, into which may be filled the woof of sundry conveniences and com- forts. But this is not the practice of the world in general, and it is by dispensing with beauty that economy begins. Economy being necessary as well as commendable, it is much practised ; and too often it is used as a catch-word by heads of families, as an ex- cuse for denying their families something which is not attractive to themselves, while they substitute something more to their taste. That economy which feeds the body well at the expense of starv- ing the mind is wretchedly short-sighted. The Bible expressly teaches that what can be put on the back, into the purse, or into the stomach is valueless in comparison with that which clothes and feeds the soul; — that perishing wordly treasures are not to be counted with those everlasting possessions, which instead of being left for our heirs to quarrel over, are ours forever when once they are ac- quired, are in fact the stock in trade with which we are to begin the next world. Yet the mass of those who profess to behave in the Bible, hurry on to get a little more money and neglect to pro- vide for the soul. All of which may be very true, but what has it to do with grow- ing flowers and other ornamental things instead of vegetables and fruit on a bit of land too small for both ? Let me tell you how the two things are connected in my mind. I have often seen a small house in a dusty street with a bit of a garden in front; over its windows and door, pretty vines climbed; bright Roses, Marigolds, and Hollyhocks Ughted up the dark, sad cloud of poverty that hung about the place ; though they were of 273 274 DECEMBER. no economical value as food, drink, or clothing, they gladdened the minds of the laborers who passed to and from their work morning and night. These men and women too closely pressed by want to do more than scrape together the wherewithal to keep body and soul together, yet find a moment to stop and enjoy the color and fragrance, which are to them the best proof of a God who watches over all his creatures. Seeing the beautiful things, they sigh for time and space to cultivate the same, and thus a spot is kept wann and green in the corner of their hearts, ready at the proper time to give liberal foothold and nourishment to any seeds of goodness and nobleness which may be dropped there. The tendency of the life of the poor is to materialism ; it is hard to persuade them that there is any object more important than providing for the body. Tied down in the din of machinery ; unable to go out into the God- made country where the truth might come freely to them, seeing their employers and companions seeking those things only which bring money, — how can they believe what they heai" at Bible-read- ings, that these things so greedily sought are of no real value ? But when they see time and labor spent to grow flowers, merely because they are beautiful, they perceive dimly that there is some- thing precious beside money and the things it buys ; and the throb of pleasure in their own hearts as they stand in the beautiful pres- ence testifies yet more strongly to the truth. Millions of dollars are spent in this country for education, not only because it is a help in getting bread, but because it is right that men should be educated. This education is directed to the developmentof other qualities than shrewdness merely, — truth, rev- erence, taste ; and to this end no plan is better than to show chil- dren that their teachers value all things for their intrinsic worth, for the power they have over the mind for good. What the child sees its teachers and parents love and cultivate, he will cherish and love. The presence of purity and nobleness in the soul drives out impurity and meanness, as water rejects oil. Think of this tax-payers and fathers ! If you wish your taxes to give the greatest return, surround your children when at home with objects and influences which will make their minds best able to enjoy and expand, under the teachings of the public instructor. ORNAMENTAL GROUNDS. 275- If they see you surround the ' home with beautiful things, because you love them, they will do so too. If they see your garden ar- ranged for beauty as well as utility, while all over the homestead stern economy occasionally yields to a reverential love of nature, and to a sense that the gratification of the eye and the mind is quite as important as the gratification of the appetite, they will groyr up with liberal, generous feelings and opinions, they will be men and women who have the best interests of the age at heart. When discussing the laying out of the kitchen-garden, I directed that some paths should be straight and some curved ; these direc- tions were not purely arbitrary, but are the result of certain prin- ciples. How to make a road or path is settled in a few words ; how to lay it out depends upon many considerations. KESIDEHCB OF- E. S. BmDS, ESft., PEIKCBTON, K. J. CHAPTER XXXVn. LOCATING EOADS AND PATHS. Stabting with the fact that the road or path is to be a means of going from one point to another, most men will say that it must plainly be as straight as possible, must be the shortest dis- tance between the two points, if such a line of travel is practicable. But I cannot think this reasoning correct. I am sure much evil has grown out of it. Of course the purpose of a road is to connect two places for travel, and of course it does not answer its purpose if it is not pretty direct ; but it is possible to sacrifice too much to this directness, and the sacrifice is so often made that I consider it important to inquire into the matter at some length. Though the inquiry is made particularly to determine what rules should guide us in laying down roads and paths on private estates, I shall first speak of public roads, believing that we may thus ar- rive at conclusions which will apply to private roads with even greater force than to highways. Suppose yourself travelling a road carried as straight as a rail- road, but not travelling by steam power ; you are walking or driving in no more than ordinary haste. For miles ahead you see your road ; if your journey is not to be long the end is in sight from the beginning, and you measure oiF the distance, step by step, thinking in spite of yourself how slowly you get on, till you grow impatient, hurried, fretful. Get what glimpses you may on either hand, that provoking vista robs them of genuine variety, and with its stupidly familiar face takes away all chance of a pleasant sur- prise. It will not let you tarry to enjoy a pleasant side view in peace, but is always reminding you of your purpose, and upbraid- ing you with neglecting it. If good fortune has put a hill in the way too thick or hard to cut through, you are relieved for a moment only to see with a more annoying distinctness from its top your 276 LOCATING ROADS AND PATHS. 277 wKole road marked out. Across marshes and prairies such roads are necessary and proper ; there is no excuse for their curving, and any deviation from the straight line would be an insult to public good sense, as well as robbery of the public purse ; but they are never favorite roads to pedestrian or equestrian, unless he belong to the cultivated class, who think trotting horses the great delight of life. With what relief we turn from them to a road which winds to avoid water, or to cross mountains by an easier ascent ! how we enjoy the unexpected views which burst upon us at the sharp turns, the alternation between the woods or glens that shut in about us, and the valleys that open before us, or the heights that give us a glimpse of our destination, without revealing all the road by which we are to reach it ! We can linger when we like with- out a guilty feeling that we are wasting time, and at last are ■ sur- prised at some curve to find that it is the last, and has brought us unawares to our journey's end. Variety is a great dehght and a great aid to the traveller ; it refreshes not only his mind, but his body ; for variety of surface calls into play a different set of muscles. Another disadvantage in straight roads in a hilly country (mean- ing roads which doggedly hold to their original direction and curve, — when curve they must, — up and down, not right and left)) is that they lead over the hills in the line of most difficult ascent, and so try man and beast to the utmost ; they call a new set of muscles into work. We need not dwell on this point. Every one knows how much more easily he gets round than over a hill, and how difficult and expensive it is to keep steep roads in repair. A rigidly straight road, then, must be disagreeable, wearisome, expensive. There is another objection to it, great though not very obvious ; it 'stultifies the minds of those who travel it ; not utterly, but surely, the more completely as they travel it more frequently, and have less internal resources. The fact of its monotony implies this, for we all need the stim-' ulus of variety to keep our minds active ; we grow stupid, and " whistle for lack of thought," when we are shut in by outward sameness, and deprived at the same time of books and companions. We should return in very different moods from a walk through 24 278 DECEMBER. Holland, and from one thi-ough Switzerland. Men may sneer at the idea that scenery modifies character, may instance Swiss Cre- tins, and ask where are the Swiss poets ; but the exception does not disprove the rule, and poetry speaks in other ways than in verse. Though there be boors among mountains, and wits and philosophers on prairies and marshes, the mass of mankind have been, are, and will forever be, refined by quiet beauty, quickened by the picturesque, made deeper and stronger by the sublime. They are susceptible to these natural influences, though in different degrees. The blood colors the cheek and brightens the eye of one man quicker than that of another, when they stand together in sight of Mount Blanc, or on the seashore, but depend upon it the blood flows quicker in every man's veins when he looks on such sights. We are all barometers beneath these influences, and you are not foolish but wise to judge of these influences by the more susceptible instruments. The folly lies in thinking there is no quicksilver in those veins which are more sluggish, or that their sluggishness proves the absence of heavenly influences. I have gone into this inquiry about the advantages and disad- vantages of straight town and county roads thus at length, because here is the very stronghold of narrow-minded prejudice ; here is the public error which so vitiates private taste. No vandalism is so common in New England as that which obtains among road surveyors, county commissioners, " selectmen," and well-to-do farmers. Possessed with the idea that directness is the only virtue in a road, they straighten curves, cut down hills, fill up valleys, and rather than swerve from some fixed line, cut down noble trees, the growth of centuries, and whose beauty and majesty typifies Divinity itself. Trees are sacrificed every year that were the very ideals of perfection of their species, and were the pride of the whole country round. The absurdity becomes painful when a tree, produced by the concentrated energies of the earth, air, and sun, for years, the noblest of its race, as beautiful as Venus or Apollo, worthy of daily love and worship, is removed, because some headlong milkman or hurried stage driver can thereby save a few feet. Generations of milkmen and stage drivers may have sprung up and died since it was a sapling, and other generations LOCATING ROADS AND PATHS. 279 would pass away before its natural decay, and yet some astute road-maker or officious village dignitary orders its removal, and the green head is brought low. Such outrages are barbarous, and their perpetrators ought to be known, and their names written in the annals of the rogues and scapegraces of the neighborhood, and handed down to the contempt of posterity. This public mistake is so prevalent that it influences private opinion, and the multitude, who are too ignorant to have any mind of their own, or too timid to carry it out, foUow the public fashion, and accordingly we find in private grounds straight avenues, straight walks, straight rows of .trees, rectangular enclosures. All the variety and grace of nature is ruled and straightened out of them. Ill advised as this treatment is at any time or place, in the pub- lic road and kitchen-garden, it seems somewhat excused by the plea of business and necessity, but in ornamental grounds even that is removed ; there every argument and fancy should favor the introduction of whatever may tend to refine the mind, banish thoughts of business and money, and awaken emotions of taste, and so far from following the leader, every one should be careful to measure his improvements beforS he makes them, not by " What will they say ? " or " What do they do ? " but by what seems most akin to the graceful, beautiful, and refined. If he cannot study some acknowledged canon of good taste, has neither time, money, nor opportunity to visit places improved with taste, and which are truly ornaments to nature, let him make the best attempt he can, assured that he will be ridiculed by those who are safe because they do not infringe upon public opinion, and conscious that his discernment will be improved by the effort made, and that if he tries faithfully, he will get right in time. CHAPTER XXXVm. GKEENHOUSE. f ANUARY. The greenhouse will demand more attention during the rest of the winter than it has hitherto done. After the year turns there seems a disposition in plants to increased growth ; the days are longer, there is more light and heat to stimulate the tissues, and and the sunlight is more magnetic. Be care- ful, in your impatience for flowers, not to in- crease the heat of the houses too rapidly ; we shall have colder weather yet, and we must not get up our greatest heat too soon. "Water all plants a little more freely, and syringe as often as a clear, bright day promises sun enough to evaporate the moisture on the surface. From this tinle till spring warm water may be used in watering with great advantage. The small holes in the rose of the syringe are the best to use ; and although after fumi- gations it is well to syringe forcibly over and under the plants, to wash off dead insects, it is generally better in syringing the house to throw the shower up into the air, so that it may fall perpendic- ularly, and with only the velocity it receives from its own weight, upon the plants. This manual being for the guidance of amateurs and learners, I shall now give the general treatment of a large and important class of plants, to which much of the beauty of well-kept greenhouses, conservatories and parterres is due. Geraniums (Pelargoniums), are as familiar as household words to all lovers of plants ; to all who wish a few plants in the house, and in some of their many varieties are easily cultivated, and sure to give satisfaction. In England and our Southern States they will pass the winter out of doors, and unprotected, or with a slight covering. There are dif- 280 GREENHOUSE. 281 ferent degrees of hardihood among Geraniums, and this difference must be understood to render their culture certain. Some kinds, like the Common Scarlet, Tom Thumb, and Horse Shoe, are so tenacious of life that they may be removed from the garden into pots, be cut down near the ground, and left in any outhouse or cel- lar where the temperature is above freezing, and they will live, and may be set out in the flower beds the next year, to renew their growth and beauty. Geraniums vary in their power of withstand- ing the sun ; some varieties will not bear our hot sun in summer, they neither grow nor blossom well in it. I have said in a pre- ceding month that as a general rule succulent plants are tender, and need more heat than the woody varieties ; but Geraniums are succulent or woody, according to the rapidity of growth ; they may be exposed to a very low temperature ; when in the flower-garden they often stand several severe frosts without injury. On the other hand, to ensure that they grow and flower well a degree of heat is desirable that would ruin Heaths, and many other hard-wooded plants. Our limited means forbidding us to give the peculiar culture, which makes each plant thrive best, we must be content with so managing our small house as to give all a fair chance. The soil in which Pelargoniums especially delight is old sods, cut and stacked for a few months, and then chopped, with a spade, moderately fine. The cuttings and young plants need rather finer material of the same kind. In the growing and flowering season keep the plants near the glass, and give each room enough to ex- pand well on all sides. A span-roofed house or pit is best for ■ them ; when they get the sun only on one side, turn them often, that they may be symmetrical. Some Pelargoniums bloom but once a year, others nearly all the time ; the latter are the only ones which should be cultivated in the ground, witli the exception of the Kose Geranium, whose fragrant leaves are more desirable than its flowers. After blossoming, or when to be removed to the house from the garden, cut them back to within a few eyes of the old wood. Such as are in pots should be taken out, their roots pruned, and cut out if dead, and they repotted in pots one or two sizes 24* 282 JANtJAKY. smaller. This " underpotting " is a very common expedient of gardeners to throw plants into flower. Most plants flower from theu' new growth, and a new growth can be stimulated only by new roots, and underpotting induces new roots. As they grow, shift into larger pots. Shifting is transferring the plant to a larger pot whenever the present pot is crowded, and each increase of size, giving new material, stimulates the plant to renewed efforts. The sizes of pots increase slowly, so that the next size affords just the room wanted. After potting, set them into a cold pit or other cool place, where light is abundant, and the thermometer does not fall below 40°- When the roots have fairly begun to grow into the new soil give much air, to harden the plants ; as soon as the new growth is pretty well hardened set on the staging. They may be put into larger pots for flowering, as soon as wanted. The ever- blooming varieties may be kept in a constant state of growth, or remain quiet until the time comes for setting them anew in the garden, at the pleasure of the gardener. Small new plants generally do better in the garden than old stocks, although the latter commence blossoming sooner. If you set out old stocks, cut them down just before setting out, much as for repotting in the fall; this will ensure a more vigorous and healthy growth. Pelargoniums may be propagated by cuttings, seeds, roots, and layers. The latter is the surest method for nearly all plants, but is slower, and only resorted to from necessity. Plants which strike easily from cuttings are more often increased in this way. • To make the best cutting of a Geranium (see p. 285) cut oflP a small branch of new wood which has not blossomed, together with a bit of the old wood on which it grew ; the old wood at the joint is called a heel ; it is full of invisible though active eyes or buds, which readily make roots. But good cuttings which grow readily, may be got by cutting with a sharp knife directly across young and unblossomed shoots, below a bud ; remove all the lower leaves as high on the cutting as it is to be set deep into the sand or earth ; but do not remove any leaves above this point ; do not bruise them or allow them to wilt — with one exception to be made hereafter — GREENHOUSE. 283 and on this account plant your cutting as soon as possible after it is made. This is very important. The general soil for all cuttings is white, clean river sand, an inch or more in depth, as free as possible from iron and other im- purities, laid over such soil as best suits the variety of plant from which the cutting is made, so that when they strike and emit their roots into the sand, they may work slowly through to the earth below, where they will grow in proportion to their strength. Many experiments have shown that with some plants, charcoal dust, brick dust, charred turf, bone dust, and other materials are excellent for cuttings ; — almost every gardener has a specific pre- paration for the purpose. To insure that they shall do well, it is best to make a bed like a common hotbed, in which there may be some bottom heat. To support its leaves the cutting must emit roots, and to this end all the collateral circumstances must be favorable. The first act of a healthy cutting is to form a callus, already described in speaking of transplanting ; to the formation of this callus, warmth and mois- ture at the cut end are essential ; and by setting the cuttings in a hotbed, or by placing the pots and pans containing them on or over hot-air or hot-water pipes, a moderate bottom heat is obtained. Beside being supplied with warmth and moisture, cuttings must be protected against too rapid evaporation by bell glasses, or by being set in comparatively dark places. The more tender and shy plants should have air in only a moderate degree, until roots have started ; the hardier need less care. Constant watchfulness is indispensable with cuttings of succulent plants, when set in warm, damp, and shaded places, lest they damp off; this is a mys- terious but common cause of disappointment; the cutting rots near the surface of the earth. Before making your cuttings, prepare the vessel in which they are to be set ; fill the pot to within 3 inches of its top with broken crocks ; over these put 1^ inches of such soil as the plant likes best ; over this 1^ inches of sand or such other material as you prefer; set the cuttings round the edge at a slight angle from the inside outwards. Those cuttings always strike most readily which are 284 JANUARY. nearest the pot ; experiments have proved conclusively that cuttings need air as well as moisture, and this seems to be supplied to a suf- ficient degree, through or along the sides of the pot. Better than pots are shallow pans made for the purpose, and easily drained. The facts about air and moisture led to the following invention,* which has proved excellent for its purpose : a 48 sized pot (B) is ren- dered water-tight by plugging up the hole in its bottom with a handful of clay (a) ; over this are laid enough broken crocks to raise the top of a small sized pot (E) level with the top of B ; the hole in E is plugged with a cork. Over the crocks and around E is filled in soil fit for the plant after it begins to grow ; over this to the top of B, pure sand, in which the cutting is set, as in all other cases, 1 to 1-^ inches deep, and inclined toward the side of the inner pot. in a warm, shaded place. Some plants form calluses slowly ; by partly severing the cut- tings some lime before using, the cut part will callus like a layer before it is removed, and when made into a cutting, will strike more readily. The best time for making cuttings of plants under glass, in order that they may get well established before the next winter, is the late winter and early spring. This rule, however, is not without exceptions ; some plants, as Ericas, must be stimulated to grow before cuttings are taken from them, as it is their young shoots, with or without a heel or bit of the old wood, which are needed ; and all plants have especially appropriate seasons for taking cuttings, which will be noticed in the proper place. You may decide whether a cutting has struck, i.e., has sent out roots, by Set the whole apparatus * Mcintosh, p. 349. GREENHOUSE. 285 gently touching one of the old leaves ; if the roots have fonned, the leaf will drop at touch, as a new growth has begun ; if no roots have formed, the leaf wiU not come away without twisting. Cuttings, as I have said, are the easiest means of increasing a stock of plants, and they are so easily grown from most plants that the ordinary methods seem good enough; but however easily they grow, the operation is much more rapid and sure when they are exposed to bottom heat. A leading authority in such matters, lays it down as a rule that " it is not the tempera- ture of the atmosphere, but of the soil that requires to be raised ; we must first obtain roots, the leaves will foUow." "As soon as the cuttings begin to grow, more light and air may be admitted to them, and such as begin to push up weakly should be topped, and when fairly rooted, transplanted from sand into pots in their proper soil." As many plants which will root freely in sand, refuse to grow in it, all cuttings should for safety be removed as soon as they have fairly begun to grow. Where large quantities of Scarlet Geranium are wanted for bedding, they should be planted in a dung bed in March, where they will grow rapidly. I have said there is, an exception to the rule that the leaves left on a cutting must not be allowed to wilt before it is set ; it is in the case of strong, fleshy plants, fuU of sap, which may with advan- tage be allowed to lie on the table a few' hours to evaporate some of their superfluous sap. " When the object is to get new and improved varieties," seeds are sown, which is a simple process, but care must be taken in se- lecting seeds. The shape of the flower, the substance, size, and color of the petals are the points to be preserved and improved, and this is to be sought by careful hybridizing or intermixing the poUen of dif- ferent plants. For the benefit of some of my readers, who may not understand this common term, I will give a short description of a process by 286 JANUARY. which varieties of plants are obtained. Every perfect flower has a calyx or cup ; this is the green outside, seen to the best ad- vantage in the bud when the calyx folds around and encloses the rest of the flower, as the green outside of a Rosebud. The corolla is next the calyx, and is what is usually called the flower, and is either whole or divided into many parts. These parts are called petals, as the red or white leaves of the Rose. Next to the petals are the stamens, which more or less in number, are arranged next the petals or corolla in all flowers; they have two parts, the fila- ment and anther ; the filament is the long and narrow stem of the stamen, and the anther is the generally round or oblong body attached to the top of the filament, and of a slightly diiferent color, as the crowd of yellowish, slender bodies inside the colored petals of the Rose. Next to the stamens,-s^i within them, is the ovary and pistil, or pistils, the central part of the whole flower ; the ovary contains the object for which the whole flower grew and blossomed ; viz., the seeds or ovules. Careful experiments have shown that these various parts of the flower are all formed from the some original material, the leaf, which is the source and type of all. The calyx is often at first, and sometimes throughout the life of the flower, a rude leaf, and many instances will occur to every student, where the transformation is in process ; the petals are in very many cases interchangable with the sepals or divisions of the calyx, and in many plants it is difficult to distinguish between them. Stamens constantly change to petals, as every one knows who has examined a Pond LUy. The ovary, when simple, is merely a leaf folded upon itself, whence it derives its Latin name carpel, and a compound ovary is only several simple ovaries combined. To return, I said the ovary and its pistils are in the centre of the flower ; the pistils surmount or surround the ovary, and have some secret communication with its interior and its contents the ovules. A plant without a pistil and ovary is barren, seedless. These organs alone, however, do not produce seedj except when fertilized by. the pollen of the stamen. This pollen is a yellowish powder of changing character, contained in the anther, which you remember I said is attached to the filament of the stamen. At the proper GREENHOUSE. 287 time in the development of the flower, the anther of the stamen opens and ejects some of its pollen on to tte pistil of the ovary. What the precise action is, physiologists do not know ; it is sufiicient to say that this pollen fertilizes the pistil, and through it gives life to the seeds contained in the ovary. It was for this the flower blossomed ; soon after the pistil is fertil- ized the flower droops, decays, and leaves the ovary to ripen its seed. Hybridizing is removing the stamens from a flower before they have fertilized the pistil, Eind then carrying the pollen of another vai'iety of the same species to the flower operated on. This foreign pollen fertilizes the pistil, as that of the stamens which have been cut off would have done ; the flower dies, the ovary grows and produces seeds, the flowers from which will neither be like the flower which was artificially fertilized, nor that from which the pollen was brought, exactly like neither parent, and yet resembling both. In this way all the best varieties of flowers and fruits have been obtained, the hybridizing having been sometimes the work of man, sometimes of nature. By this method you see you can change your Pelargoniums at will and in any direction. Let the seed to be propagated ripen folly and freely ; gather, dry, and keep it in a cool, dry place till March ; then sow it in a rich, light soil in a well-drained pan, which is then to be set in a warm place where it will have a mod- erate bottom heat. When the seedlings have two leaves, and are an inch high, remove them to some place as near as possible to the glass ; water but moderately, lest the plants damp ofi: After a week's exposure pot into 60-sized pots, in a compost of rich loam, leaf mould, and one-eighth sand ; replace under the glass after potting ; as they grow, shift from time to time. During the first summer set in a warm, well-ventilated place out of doors, on boards or other dry substance ; the next winter keep close to the glass ; do not top or manure them. So soon as they blossom select the desirable plants, and throw away the rest. The plants retained are to be cut down, the tops, used for cuttings, and the plants stimulated to grow, and give more cuttings and finer flowers. " Tuberous-rooted Geraniums, and some others, may be propa- gated by dividing the roots. Eemove aU the soil from the roots. 288 JANUAKY. and cut them into short pieces with some fibres annexed to each ; plant the pieces in small pots, which are to be plunged into pits with a mild bottom heat, and watered ; as the young shoots appear, give air. If many shoots come up, remove all but the strongest, never keep more than three ; when these are 3 inches high stop their growth by pinching off the end, to induce side shoots." The process here described answers for most hard and soft- wooded plants. Some plants have the power of growing from their leaves alone. When the leaf is placed under favorable circumstances, buds appear on the edges or along the mid rib, which grow and produce perfect plants. The leaf is pegged down upon clean sand, or is kept in place by a small stone, then set in a warm and moist place, and treated like a cutting when the buds appear. The principal plants which grow thus are Achimenes, Gloxinia, Gesneria, Begonia, Bryophyllum, Malaxis, Aspidium bulbiferum, Nimphea micrantha, Dionea, Mentha piperita ; occasionally Dros- era, Portulaca, Cardamine pratensis, Nepeta glehcoma ; also some- times Crassula, Aloe, Eucomis regia, Lilium candidum. Hyacinth, Squill, Ornothagulum thyrsoides, the Ficus elastica, Hoya, Camosa, Citrus, Aucuba, and Theophrastus. Pinks, Carnations, and other flowers having jointed tubular stems, are propagated by pips or pipings : " They are taken from young shoots of the current year's growth ; the lower leaves in case of the Pink, are stripped off within two or three joints of the top of the cutting ; the lower part is cut off close under the joint with a clean sharp knife ; never cut off or mutilate the remaining leaves ; the pips ready, press them down into the sand three-fourths of an inch, and the same distance apart." If they are too limp to set well, lay them in cold water for a few minutes to stiffen. They may be covered with bell glasses, or left exposed; they strike root readily ; after they have rooted, transplant to pots, frames, or the open ground. Some plants can be increased with certainty only by cuttings of the flowering stems made like pips, just before flowering'; such are Double Scarlet Lychnis, Double Eocket, and some other border plants. GREENHOUSE. 289 Cuttings of the root are often successful when other means fail. I do not pretend to give full lists of names, but content myself with these general directions, and leave my readers to experiment for themselves. All common greenhouse plants may be propagated in the ways described, or by layers, by grafting, or budding. The following common stock greenhouse plants nlay be increased as first described. Pelargonium, Roses, Erica, Salvia, Lechenaultia, Heliotrope, Verbena, Diosma, Fuchsia, Daphne, Deutzia, Calycanthus, Clethra, Bryonia, Azalea, Cleanthus, Cytisus, Coronilla, Gardenia, Wei- gelia, Myrtus, Sedum, Polygala, Steevia, Lantana, Mahernia, and many others. I give the foregoing only to show how to commence increasing a collection ; a few trials will enable you to grow all varieties in their proper way. Oleanders, as we have seen, thrive best in bot- tles of water, whence they are to be transplanted into small pots, as soon as well rooted. " Cuttings of hardy fruit trees should be taken off any time be- tween the shedding of the leaves in autumn, and the tirst coming out in the spring ; " the earlier after the ripening of the wood, they are cut, the better ; keep them moist till spring, then plant on the north side of a wall, where they will be shaded till they have rooted. Evergreens may be propagated by cuttings, taking oft" the new growth with a heel of the old wood. Cuttings of partially ripened wood of hardy Evergreens, shrubs, and Roses, are found to grow best." " It is very easy to send cuttings to great distances without de- stroying their vitality, if placed loosely in a tin case, with half a table spoonful of water, — more or less according to the size of the case, — which should be hermetically sealed." Layering is done after the following manner : Lay bare the stem by removing' the soil from about the roots of the plant which is to be propagated ; select the shoots to be layered ; bend them down to the ground to find the point that can be most easily induced to touch the earth without breaking the shoot ; in cases of succulent and soft-wooded plants, this must be done with great care, as their shoots and branches are often broken by being bent. The point 25 290 JANUARY. sought being found, begin to cut with a sharp knife on the under side of the shoot, upward and toward the middle of the shoot, for about 1 inch, thus a, 1, : the cut should always be begun just below a bud, so that the bud may be separated from the parent, except so far as it is attached to the upper part of the tongue of wood thus made. The cut made, bend the shoot to the ground as in Fig. 2. Set a forked stick over the branch at h (Fig. 3), this will hold the whole branch firmly to the earth ; now carefully remove the earth under the cut part of the shoot, at a (Fig. 3) ; the hole being made, take hold of the end of the shoot and bend it up as in Fig. 4, leaving a tongue at a, projecting into the hole just made. With the hand press earth carefully into the space now left at a, between the tongue and the old wood, also pack earth all round the bent portion of the shoot and the forked stick, so that the shoot shall be kept in its bent position, and the tongue remain open. The shoot will receive sufficient nutriment through its uncut portion, whilst the tongue will callus and send roots into the earth. After these roots have grown considerably, which may be told by examination, cut the shoot off at h, and the severed portion will be a perfect plant. The season for performing this operation extends over nearly GREENHOUSE. 291 the whole year, on an estate where there is a greenhouse, as the plants in the house may be layered while vegetation is suspended out of doors. Many plants root so easily from lajers, that it is not necessary to tongue their shoots, but merely to twist them enough to bresik the bark and the close connection of the woody fibres. Others, again, only need to be laid down and covered with earth. A shoot is in the best condition for this operation when its upper part is still growing, while the lower has ripened. Still shoots and branches of last year's growth may be layered with success. Some rare and shy plants are layered by bending a shoot into the hole in the bottom of a pot which is suspended near by ; the shoot is thus brought through the pot to the air above, and earth is filled in about it in the pot. All layers must be watered and kept rather warm, but they need no shading. Many herbaceous plants like Pinks, Sweet Williams, etc., are layered in some of these ways instead of making cuttings. Lay- ering is much the most certain practice, but is slower and affords fewer plants. You remember my saying that cuttings of the Grape may be made where only a single eye or bud is taken. The theory seems to be that each bud is as complete in itself as a seed, and has stored in its immediate neighborhood all the food it needs in the early stages of its growth, if the surrounding circumstances are made fa- vorable. Consequently, in making a cutting it is enough to put into the earth just so much wood as seems to belong especially to the bud, giving the latter a reasonable access to light, air, heat, and moisture. Buds are the only perfectly reliable source for the propagation of any particular variety. Seeds as I have shown may be quite al- tered from their original intention by hybridizing, and easy as this operation is to man, it is still more easy to nature. Bees, wasps, flies are all means used by her for intermingling the pollens of dif- ferent plants ; they dive into the flower in search of honey, get showered with the pollen of the stamens through which they brush, and then fly to another plant ; if this is a different species, the pol- len they bring will produce no effect on the pistil, but if it is the 292 JANUARY. same species, but a variety differing in shape, color, or otherwise, the imported pollen when brushed against the pistil, will attach it- self and fertilize it. Such natural hybridization is the yearly an- noyance of those who cultivate plants of the Sc[uash and Cu- cumber family. Melons being the most delicate members of this family, their flowers are constantly overcome by the stronger pollen of Squashes, Cucumbers, etc. The fact is so well established that no good gardener will plant these different members of the same fam- ily near together. The hybridizing of a season does not appreciably effect the fruit of that year, but the seed contains the future fruit which will prove disagreeable next year. It sometimes becomes necessary for cultivators of rare varieties of plants, whose color, shape, etc., they wish to perpetuate, to cover the flowers they se- lect for seeds with bellglasses, or lace bags, to prevent insects from performing this hybridizing. Propagation by cuttings of single buds is a valuable means of in- creasing those plants whose seed is scanty, or which from some cause cannot be budded or grafted, as Hollyhocks and other her- baceous plants, Grapes and some other woody plants. Grapes may be grafted, budded, or grown from long cuttings, but cannot be multi- plied by either process so fast as by puttings of a single bud. The best kinds of Hollyhock, Double Lychnis, and other herbaceous plants, should have their cuttings made after this manner : So soon as the plant has blossomed enough to satisfy the grower that it is a desirable variety, cut down the flowering shoot ; new shoots will start up around it ; when these are 18 inches to 2 feet long, cut them into -pieces, each containing one eye, — much Uke cuttings of the Grape. Instead of using the secondary small shoots, the main stem may be divided longitudinally, aud then cut into pieces 2 or 3 inches long, taking care not to injure the buds. Place these cuttings under light, rich soil, and cover them just leaving the bud open to air and moisture ; soon roots will be sent out from the cut ends and edges ; when these are pretty well grown, transplant to a seed bed of light, rich loam, well sheltered, but with more di- rect light ; treat carefully with air, moisture and warmth, and you will soon have fine plants. Growing the Vine from single eyes is much the same practice as GREENHOUSE. 293 that just described. The eyes should be prominent, well developed, and on the last year's wood ; cut an inch above and an' inch below the eye ; select a pot of 4 or 5 inches in diameter ; put in good drainage, fill with rich, light loam, and set the cuttings so that the eye shall be covered by at least an inch of the loam. Give the pot if possible, a bottom heat of 70° to 80°, and keep the air at 60°. In a short time a shoot will appear. Before this, little care will be required ; keep the earth in the pot just moist ; as soon as the shoot is above the surface, water occasionally and watch well that no worms get into the pot, which they cannot do if the pots are set into a few inches of coal ashes. In a month they will be nice plants six or eight inches high, and may be repotted for the last time. Sub- sequent treatment depends on the use to which they are to be put. There are several other methods of propagating the Vine, but this is the best and allows of the speediest increase. Pelargoniums will be coming into blossom, — should have a last shifl of pots, and have abundant light and moisture. Eepot Achimenes, Gloxinia, Cineraria, and all climbing plants not yet repotted. Verbenas, Japan Lilies, Fuchsias for spring show ; if the Carnations need it, give a larger pot. Dielytra spectabalis, and Pansies may be introduced into the house for the spring bloom. "Water Camelias abundantly whilst in blossom, and as the Azaleas start to grow, give them more water. 25* CHAPTER XXXIX. CONSERVATORY. The conservatory should be, at this season, truly a winter garden. The climbers on posts and trellises are now in bud and blossom ; the Camelias, Daphnes, etc., are blooming, and the Roses, Heliotropes, and numberless other smaller plants lend their colors and fragrance to complete the beautiful whole. Under all is the delicate green moss, the Polypodiums, the Stone Crops, etc. Lysimachia nummularia, with their green leaves, make a carpet of verdure. The cold weather without enhances the delight of this in-door garden, and no owner will regret the labor and expense that has brought about such a result. There is generally more mild weather in January than in the other winter months ; on many days fire-heat may be dispensed with altogether. Be carefiil, however, lest sudden cold take you unawares, and never be without fire at night. The work is hght now — admitting air, regulating heat, and supplying moisture. In fine weather syringe often, letting the showers fall perpendicularly, as before directed. On warm days change the plants, removing to the greenhouse those out of blossom, and replacing them with others just coming into bud. 294 CHAPTER XL. GKAPERT. Continue the treatment laid down for last month in the grapery. We shall not begin to force till next month, but in the interval must keep the forcing-house rather warmer than hitherto, but not higher than 40° or 50° in the daytime. The cold grapery must be just above freezing ; the retarding-house, as last month, cold and dry, but above frost. All this needs but little fire. Peach-trees, Fig-trees, etc., which were housed in the cellar or sheds, should now be brought into the houses. The mushroom bed, which I described as under the table, in the forcing-house, and of which no further mention has been made, is yielding an abundance of mushrooms ; other beds may be made in the other houses, if you please. In the last month's grapery. I gave drawings, and some descrip- tions, of houses for Peaches and other fruits, with the promise of en- tering more fully into the method of growing and managing such fruit under glass. It is obvious that trees to be grown under glass must be of smaller stature than when grown in the open air, and that means must be found to dwarf them. Beside this, they should be under different degrees of excitement at different seasons, to accomplish which many schemes have been devised. It is usual to plant such trees in the ground like vines, and in this way large crops may easily be got ; but a better way in many respects is to grow them in tubs. If trained on dome or curved espaliers of course they must occupy the same place for years, and in that case they should be planted in the earth ; but you will remember my saying that span-roofed houses are the best for all such culture, and there the trees assume the shapes natural to them when grown out- of-doors. To ensure perfect crops, and to keep them entirely under control, the trees should be allowed a period of entire rest ; 295 296 JANUARY. and if they could be removed, after bearing their crop, from the house where they have been excited, to a cooler and shadier place, they would be carried through an artificial winter, and so have the needed rest, and be prepared for profitable forcing another year, and if continuous crops of fruit we're wanted it would be easy to secure them, by having two houses, with different exposures, and removing the trees from one to the other, as heat and stimulus were desired, or shunned. Evidently this is out of the question with trees planted in the earth, for their roots must be undisturbed to seciire growth and fruit, but by cultivating in tubs of size sufficient to give the roots full room, the change can be made with ease. I will give directions for cultivating the tree fruits in the ground before I speak of them in tubs. And I shall give English rather than American experience, for, as I have said before, these fruits are but little grown under glass here in comparison with what is done in England, nor do general cultivators carry their practice to as great perfection here as there. "We need not cultivate these fruits under glass unless we wish to have them out of season. The English, on the contrary, must- grow most of them under glass to have them at all, their climate being too damp and cold, and their hours of simshine too few to bring Peaches, in particular, to per- fection. Some of our cultivators, however, are very successful in growing fruit out of season, for instance, Allen, of Salem ; Hol- brook, of Braintree ; Stetson, of Bridgewater, and others, who yearly exhibit the successful results of their labors on the tables of the Boston Horticultural Society. In gardens Peach-trees are generally grown on their own stock, the buds of improved varieties being transferred to ordinary stocks got from planting the stones of any kind of Peach. When Peaches were a new fruit, and not common, we had, in whatever part of country they were cultivated, perfect trees and perfect fruit, but the demand increasing with unusual rapidity, it was difficult for nurserymen to supply it, and in their eager effiarts to do so they neglected the precautions, without which perfect trees and fruit cannot be secured ; viz., to select stones of the best fruit from the healthiest trees, which show no taint in their constitution, and to plant these for stocks. Stocks thus grown are healthy, and if bud- GEAPERT. 297 ded from equally; healthy trees, will make healthy and satisfactory trees. But the nurserymen, in their haste, planted all stones indis- criminately ; they were so careless about the kind and quality of the tree which bore these stones, as to pay boys by the. quart for stones collected in city streets ' during the Peach season, many of which were, of course, from poor trees, and perpetuated, when planted for stocks, their own defects. The stocks thus produced were budded with choice varieties ; the bud governs the kind of fruit produced where it is inserted, but the health of the tree is governed principally by the stock. And the nurserymen were not content with violating nature in this way. The careful cultivator knows that every plant grown for a number of years on the same spot, exhausts in that ground the food which it particularly needs, and that to secure good crops from such ground a different plant must be grown on it, which will need few or none. of the constituents necessary for the preceding crop, but wants just those that are left in abundance in the soil. But the Peach growers were not only careless about the seed which supplied their new orchards, but they planted these orchards on the ground before occupied by Peaches, and thus deprived the young trees from the first of their vital necessities, and compelled them to feed on vitiated and exhausted earth. Still another rule of agriculture was neglected ; viz., that each year's crop must be carefully cultivated, manured, ploughed, hoed. What should we think of the prospective Com -crops of a farmer, between whose rows the ground was thickly sown with Grass or Eye ? Why, that he would lose more from his Corn than he could possibly make good by the additional crop. But Peach growers sowed Grass between their rows of trees, or allowed it to grow there. This double demand on the ground results either in impov- erishing both trees and fruit, or in shortening the life of the tree. When speaking of Pear-culture, I said that its success depends on plenty of moisture, plenty of manure, and on thinning the fruit. This last process has an important influence on the quality of all fruit crops, and is indispensable to success in Grape growing, as the merest tyro knows ; but this, too, was neglected by the Peach growers, who, in their greediness for large crops allowed the trees 298 JANUARY. to bear all the fruit they set, and consequently got no fruit equal to that grown on properly thinned trees. What wonder that our trees with such a pedigree have " the yellows," are uncertain bearers, and in many parts of the country complete failures ? "Whoever wishes to get perfect fruit and long- lived trees, must go back to first principles, must select his seed, grow his stocks, and be particular about the source, especially in growing trees under glass, where the process is expensive and tedious, and where one diseased tree may be the cause of a large loss. Remember, too, the discovery made in Pear culture : that large growing varieties worked upon the stocks of small growing plants, preserve their superiority of fruit, while the tree continues of small size. This is of great consequence under glass, where room is all-important ; small tops and roots are' desirable both in the trees planted in the ground, and in those in tubs ; and this is the case even in span-roofed houses, where the middle trees may and should be larger than the side rows. Supposing our peachhouse to be built, or the trees grown as in our graperies, the proper soil is the first consideration. Perfect drainage and a light soil are necessities. It has been supposed that the Peach does not need rich soil, because in the open air it thrives better in light and sandy, than in rich alluvial soil. Not so. The things to be especially avoided are over-damp- ness and over-richness near the roots; the former is particularly bad, and causes rot, the latter, canker. To insure drainage, the soil must be sandy and porous, but it should be highly and con- stantly fertilized with well-rotted, not with rank, manures. If the situation of your house is wet, drain well, and under the border lay a foundation of rubble stones. Through this rubble it will be well to carry, as in Grape borders, a pipe from the boiler ; because to insure success in forcing, we must keep the roots warmed in proportion to the top. By covering the outside border eveiy fall with a good coat of leaves and horse manure, as early as October, the summer heat may be retained enough to enable you to dis- pense with heat through the rubble in winter. Upon this lay two GEAPEET. 299 or three feet of rich maiden loam ; in this loam the trees wUl thrive so long as its fertility remains unexhausted, To avoid exhaustion, water at the proper season with liquid manures, and also every fall, after the wood is ripened and the leaves have fallen, remove the two or three upper inches of loam, and replace with old pasture mould, or well-chopped turf; before laying this on, fork in lightly a dressing of well-rotted manure, or give several copious waterings of liquid manure. The border prepared, select, whether for walls or trellises, healthy trees, one year from the bud, of those varieties you prefer ; set them out, all trees of the same size and habit of growth for the trellises ; but for the back have dwarfs and standards alternately. The stock on which to work Peaches in order to dwarf them, is Plum or Bitter Almond. Choose trees budded near the ground ; set them so as to just cover the base of the bud, and plant in fall or spring ; the fall is the best time if the house can be ready then. Cut the stem back to four eyes from the bud; through the winter keep the house just above freezing ; do not let it get much higher than 40° in the daytime, and rely upon the sun's heat kept in at night by shutters and mats, unless the weather should be so severe as to render it impossible to l keep the temperature above freezing without fires. As the spring comes on the sun will get more power, and the house, even if con- stantly ventilated, will warm in the daytime above the growing point, and soon the buds wUl swell and start to grow. Before they do this, cover the tree with the following wash, which is to be ap- plied by a brash drawn up along the stem, so as not to disturb the buds, and is the same which is to be used for grape vines ; 2 oz. flour of sulphur; 2 oz. soft soap; 4 oz. quicklime, mixed in a gallon of rain-water. This is to be applied at least two weeks be- fore you begin to syringe. As the buds swell, increase the hu- midity of the house by syringing morning and evening when the day is bright, and once during the day in cloudy weather. The four buds will produce four shoots ; bend them into such shapes as suit you, but keep them low down ; let them grow at will till mid- summer, and then pinch off their ends. This will check growth 300 JANUARY. and the wood will ripen. As soon as the leaves fall, cut back the four shoots to within four eyes each of the old wood. Cover the border as before directed, with litter and manure. Keep the house this winter as the last, cool, till spring excites the trees ; during the winter fumigate with sulphur; whitewash the house to kill red spiders and other destructive insects ; examine the stock near the ground to detect any borers that naay have got in (though they should never get into a house well cared for) ; should there be any sign of them, run a wire into the hole till you touch the worm ; kill and pull it out. Before the young shoots begin to start in the second spring, wash the stem and roots with the mixture just di- rected. The cut shows the present appearance of the tree. Al- low the four present branches to grow in the same direction as hitherto, and aEow two buds, new shoots, to grow up the wall at a sharper angle than the others. Treat the house this year as the last ; allow no fruit to grow. During the second fall of growth or the third since planting, cut a a, h b, back one-third of their length, and the JlLi-c_I_/2" ''^^ shoots to 4 eyes. The diagram shows \ l^^__^_; the trpe during the third winter and spring. 3 Give it more heat this year after February than before, and induce it to grow earlier ; this may easily be done without fire heat. During the third summer allow no fruit to grow unless as a specimen, for if the trees bear so young, they will lose in permanency and strength. Let the new shoots grow up the wall so as to perfect the fan shape ; let the other branches grow at will till midsummer, when they must be pinched as before ; in the fall prune all back one-third of their length ; cover the border deeply with manure and leaves. The fourth winter you may be- gin to force — not earlier however than the middle or last of Feb- ruary. Go over all the young wood with the lime and soap mix- ture. During January keep the temperature higher than before, but not over 50° in the day, and let it fall at night to 35° or 40°- Give plenty of air. Before beginning to increase the heat, ascer- tain whether the earth in the borders has retained heat enough to rv. ^.i vT^^a GBAPERT. 301 render forcing well-balanced, and if not, be ready as you heat the house more, to throw some heat into the pipe which traverses the rubble foundation. The proper heat of the border cannot well be prescribed, as it will depend on circumstances, not to be forseen; but if the gardener remembers the analogy of Nature, he will easily be guided into the right course. When out-of-door vegeta- tion begins in the spring, the earth is quite cold, but lately un- locked from frost, with a temperature from 35° to 40° ; and it grad- ually warms as the season advances. If then the borders are at about 35°, we may safely begin to heat and slightly increase the heat in them month by month. During January give the inside borders two or three copious waterings of warmed liquid manure, which will warm them about enough. It is found at this stage that the trees seem to receive great ben- efit from ammoniacal vapors, and in old times gardeners heaped stable manure under them ; the vapor may be obtained as well from pans of urine set over the flues and pipes to evaporate, and the unsightly manure be avoided. When we begin forcing after the application of the wash to the young wood, we must dispense with the syringe for a time, as it would remove the wash ; the proper humidity must be kept up by watering the floors and flues, and by setting evaporating pans of water about. During pleasant days early in this winter, all the heat which is necessary, may be got by shutting the house up ; the temperature in the day may range from 45° to 50°, and must not fall below 40° at night ; and to maintain this night-temperature, fires must be made. " About 12 or 15 days after increasing the heat, the blos- soms will begin to expand ; at this period the humidity of the house hitherto caused by steaming and syringing, should be lessened, and a slight increase of temperature afforded ; the increase should not be over 5°, for to hurry the expansion of the blossoms and the setting of the fruit, might endanger the whole crop. The more slowly the buds swell and go through the stage of forming the parts of fructification, and the important offices dependent on it, so much the more certain will success be." 26 302 JANUARY. " When the flowers are fully expanded, and the pollen fit for dis- persion, a more abundant ventilation will be necessary, and this must not be withheld, even although it becomes necessary to in- crease the heat evQry morning and continue it through the day, to make up for the air admitted." " At this time the greatest care must be taken that ventilation be properly administered, and that no draughts of cold, frosty air be allowed to blow in directly upon the trees." You will now observe the great advantage of the kind of venti- lation or aeration advocated in the plans of houses I have proposed. " The temperature, although well aerated, may now range from 50° to 60° in the day, and must not fall at night below 45°." In- crease heat and moisture with the expansion of the fruit. " As soon as the flowers begin to decay, the young fruit will be seen seated between the fragments of the petals. If the embryo fruit is many days struggling to get free of the decaying blossoms, it is a sure symptom of a sluggish action of the root. On the contrary, fine fresh trees in their prime, will soon enable their progeny to escape." " This is an important fact, and should constantly be borne in mind by cultivators, as it indicates more surely than the after state of the foliage whether the roots are healthy or not." " When the fruit has arrived at this state, less ventilation and consequently less heat must be given ; but the changes must be effected slowly, as all sudden changes of temper- ature with stone fruits are particularly dangerous. The artificial heat may remain at 50° — 60°. The sun-heat may raise the temper- ature to 75° without danger, for there is a great diflference in the connection of vegetable life with artificial or sun-heat. In propor- tion as the sun heats the house more, ventilate more." " At this period of the fruit's existence moisture must be increased by syringing, to refresh and nourish them, and to keep down the ap- pearance of thrips and red spiders, the existence of which may be often traced to too high and dry a temperature." After the fruit has fairly set, the trying season is over, and all that follows is judicious thinning the fruit and stimulating its growth. "To insure growth close attention must be paid to pruning the new wood, which may at this season be effected principally by dis- GEAPERT. 303 budding," i.e., by rubbing off all those buds which have not com- menced growing, but which would overcrowd the tree if allowed to grow. " By timely disbudding much after-pruning and over- crowding the ti-ee is avoided." " Disbudding should commence as soon as the young shoots are 2 inches long, and should be carried on progressively until the tree is disburdened of its superfluous wood, and left in condition to perfect what is left ; the work should be. followed for four or five weeks, and the trees be gone over often." " During the process of disbudding two kind Of shoots will be observed, the one strong and robust, emerging from the centre of a group of buds, and proceeding in an outward instead of a lateral direction, which if laid into the espalier would be broken ; these strong and watery shoots are to be removed, reserving only such as may be necessary for filling up the centre of the tree ; the other wood is often of slender growth, but it is the wood destined to pro- duce the flower-buds of the next season. This should be moderate in growth, not drawn to great length, and very short jointed, and thickly set with buds. Too high temperature, want of ventila- tion, and inattention to disbudding all cause this unnecessary elon- gation. A contrary course tends to the formation of short, stout, well-formed shoots, abounding with bold and well-sweUed buds." " The period of stoning is considered a precarious time with all stone fruits ; if all be not right at the roots, if sudden changes of temperature or inefiicient ventilation be allowed to exist, then many of the fruits will fall off." During the whole culture of fruits, re- member that the aim should not be to violently force nature, but to accelerate her progress, and all attempts to drive vegetation rapidly by heat will produce sickly, drawn, and unfruitful results. Syringing over the leaves as a preventive to red spiders, must be, constantly persevered in, but care must also be taken that the border is neither too wet nor too dry, either state being injurious to the fruit. Throughout the season every leaf and fruit which falls must be carefully picked up, as they produce and harbor vermin, if left to decay on the ground. Fruits ripened under glass have not usually the color or the high 304 JANUARY. flavor attained by fruits grown in the open air ; they may be better protected from insects, and may also have more certain and regular temperature. Just as soon as the fruit is gathered remove all movable sashes, and let the air have free access to the house ; the more rapidly the wood ripens the better it will be for the trees ; this ripening may be hastened by pinching oflf the ends of the shoots. When the wood is ripened, prune oflf at least a third of all new growth, and keep the houses as cool as is possible, until the approach of winter renders it necessary to renew heat in the houses, and prepare for next year's forcing. I omitted to say that as the season advances, and artificial heat is no longer necessary, you may let the house get as hot as the sun will make it, only creating all the ventilation that is possible. By subjecting the house during autumn to the lowest possible temperature, and keeping it so a long time, the trees " break" better, and produce better wood and fruit the next yeav ; and in fact the thorough ripening of the wood in the fall is the most important part of the year's work, as upon it, in a great measure, depends the success of the next year's crop. So far I have described the peachhouse as if all the trees were dwarfs, and yet I gave directions that every other tree on the walls, or the high trellises, should be a standard. The standards should ,be grown up to a single stem, until they are- above the wide part of the fan-shaped dwarfs ; they may tlien be encouraged to throw out side shoots like the dwarfs, and may be treated in the same way. Sometimes fruit-growers plant in this way, intending in time to remove the dwarfs, and give all the room to the standards. I doubt the wisdom of this course with short-lived trees like the Peach, as the standards would live .no longer than the dwarfs. It is well enough to plant Cherries and Peaches alternately with this view, as the Cherry outlives the Peach. Cherries, Nectarines, Apricots, and Plums are to be treated in most respects like the Peach. I have mentioned that the Peach-trees in tubs are to be treated differently from those planted in the borders. They can be forced earlier, with a good chance of success, as the tubs are above the floor of the greenhouse, and it is easy to give them bottom heat. GEAPEKY. 305 and so stimulate all parts of the tree. Trees in tubs should be . grown in span-roofed houses, and in three rows, the middle being standards, the two outer rows dwarfs ; thus the light may be fairly distributed among all. Pruning and training should be much the same as with espaliered trees and dwarfs, out of doors. The pyr- amidal shape will be found best. As trees in tubs are very heavy, I recommend laying three rail- road tracks, made of bar iron, set on edge in cuts made in sleepers. These tracks should all converge at the door, and pass through it to the reserve or supply-house, whither the trees, out of bearing, may be removed, to be replaced by others, which are fit to be forced. The rails may be near together, and each tub may stand on a little truck, with wheels, or one truck may be used for all, the tubs being lifted on to it when they are to be moved. Peaches may be ripened in pot culture as early as April and May, but only with a large expenditure for heat, and with the loss of the perfection which characterizes fruit grown later. A signal advantage in pot and tub culture is, the ease with which decayed, diseased, or worthless trees may be removed, and replaced by others. I have given the whole treatment of Peaches thus at once, in order that a more clear and connected idea may be gained by those who wish to grow them. To succeed perfectly they should be cul- tivated in houses especially adapted to them ; in which, however, early crops of strawberries, and various vegetables, may be started and forced. Grapes are often grown in the same house, and the arrangement scarcely interferes with the perfection of some varie- ties, and must be made by persons like ourselves, who are re- stricted in room ; but the danger is, that one kind of fruit may at any time need more heat or more air than agrees with the other. The advice of a distinguished cultivator of Peaches is, to take trees of a year's growth, cut them back to four buds, and plant in a 12 inch pot, shifting them yearly, till their roots fill an 18 inch pot, which, he believes, is the largest size required. The soil he uses is a good turfy loam, mixed with decayed bits of wood from the bot- tom of the wood-pile. "When the trees are estabhshed to his mind 26* 306 JANUARY. he brings them into the house, in mild weather, during November. Do not start all at once, but take in the tubs at different times. Begin forcing with heat at 55° during the night, falling to 50° by morning ; but in mild weather never falling below 55° ; during the day the sun's heat may be allowed to raise the temperature even to 90°, until the fruit is stoned, then keep it at 95° to 105° ; of course a great deal of moisture is required with this high tem- perature ; syringe over head twice a day, or oftener if necessary, to prevent green fly and red spider. Very little water is needed at the root till the trees are covered with leaves ; after that give an abundance. As the fruit approaches maturity the water must gradually be withdrawn, to heighten the flavor. In all cases — in pots or in the ground — the slower Peaches are ripened the finer and higher flavored will be the fruit ; and those who think to in- crease the size and appearance of their fruit by a close course of treatment, will make a miserable mistake. Much advantage has resulted, in early forcing, from assisting the early impregnation of the flowers, particularly where the trees are young, and of robust habit, and are deprived of the natural agents in this process, as plenty of air and the aid of bees and other insects. The pollen may be transferred from the stamens to the pistil, by a camel's-hair penciL In cases of some very fruitful trees there is a great abundance of fruit buds, but no leaf buds, except the terminal ones, which would be cut off in pruning; these trees, even if they s?t their fruit, lose it immediately after for want of the terminating buds to draw up sap ; this may be remedied by inarching leaf branches of other trees into these too fruitful branches ; — the former have grown and supplied the fruit with all needful sap, and have ripened it well. It is sometimes a successful practice to transfer fruit buds into barren branches, and thus get fruit from otherwise useless wood. The tendency to buds or fruit is easily seen and directed during the different prunings ; the best branches are three-budded, and of a rich brown color; two of these buds are blossom, the middle is a leaf bud ; branches which have only single buds are leaf branches, and those with double buds only have no leaves. GKAPERT. 307 I have, throughout these directions, dwelt especially on the im- portance of frequent syringings, to remove insects, or rather to pre- vent their collecting. If, in spite of all eiforts, they attack the trees, you must fumigate. The red spider is prevented and removed by syringing, or killed by gentle fumigations of sulphur, of which small quantities may be strewed on the flues or hot-water pipes ; it may also be showered over diseased trees out of sulphuraters, or applied with water. To subdue or destroy the insect these applications must be carefully made, and perseveringly followed up — having been commenced in season. Thrips of two species are destroyed by the same means, but both insects must be taken young, and before the trees leave out, as the old animals can bear more of these applications than the young foliage. Fumigate after the trees are pruned, painting, white-washing, and washing all the old wood with spirits of tar and other preventives. The earwig is very injurious to flowers and young fruit ; it har- bors iu decayed and hoUow branches, under bricks, wood, etc. It may be easily trapped by laying over the ground the hollow stalks of Beans, Artichokes, etc., the sweet pith of which entices it in, where it may be destroyed in great quantities. A mixture of powdered sugar, arsenic, and wheaten bread, in equal parts, also attracts and kills it. The Peach and Poplar saw fly are very injurious to trees on walls and espaliers, particularly out of doors. They hatch in im- mense numbers in April or May, cover the leaves with minute cobwebs, eat them, and then form pupae. They may be destroyed by removing a few inches of earth about the roots in .the fall, and charring it, which should be done as soon as the leaves have fallen. There are several varieties of aphides, which may be destroyed by fumigation, but their eggs can only be removed by friction. The wash recommended for application just before forcing is begun, kills the insects as soon as they are hatched. Fumigate when the leaves are dry ; when wet they afford secure hiding-places to many of the insects. Choose a stiU evening, and 308 JANUARY. Stop every hole through which smoke can escape ; by mixing damp hay, pot herbs, etc., with the tobacco, the smoke may be made more dense. The best way to fumigate trees is by a tunnel-shaped tin, with its nose bent at right angles ; in its throat put some glowing wood embers, and lay the tobacco, etc., on them, with a fine wire gauze over it. to prevent the flames escaping with the smoke ; fit the nose of a bellows to the tube. You can now blow as dense a smoke as you please into the parts of the tree most in need of it, and may easily kill all insects. Be careful not to blow so fiercely as to heat the leaves or fruit, lest you shrivel or destroy them. The turtle scale is sometimes very troublesome. They are readily seen, as they are white, and collect in masses ; their eggs are killed by washing the old wood with spirits of tar, but this is too strong for the young wood. There are several weevils, the curculio, etc., which trouble Plums and Nectarines, less, however, in the house, than in the open ground. They are easily prevented by care. Remove all the fruit that falls and contains eggs, and during the season when the fly is active, frequently dust the tree with flour of sulphur ; it may be yet further excluded from trees on walls and in the open air, by covering them with musquito netting. As before said, the Apricot is to be treated much like the Peach. In pruning, be very sure to cut at a wood bud, or a triple bud, that there may be something to grow and draw up sap. If any branch has nothing but fruit buds, do not shorten it at all, unless there is a necessity for wood in that place. If possible, train some leaf branch over the place, and remove the fruit branch after it has borne. iStrong growing varieties may be pruned back one-thii-d, medium one-fourth, weak still less. Apricots often bear on spurs of two or three years old ; carefully watch and prune accordingly. When the fruit has set, and is as large as a small marble, thin each group to two or three ; later, after they have stoned, thin again down to the quantity the tree can bear ; the green fruit makes a good sauce or pie. Apricots are apt to ripen one side, whilst the other is hard ; gather, and lay in a tray, with the hard side upper- GRAPEKY. 309 most ; set in a sunny place, and in a few days the hard side will have ripened. It is well to gather all Apricots before they are ripe, as they are more juicy when ripened off the tree. If any of these trees — in-doors or out — grow too rank, prune the roots as hereafter described. The Cherry under glass is to be managed like the foregoing, only with less pruning ; it needs no shortening back, except for overgrowth. The same is true of the Plum, and their growth is best checked by root-pruning. These trees being natives of a cold country, make and ripen wood even in short seasons, while natives of warm countries, like the Peach, Nectarine, and Apricot, grow through the whole season, never ripening their wood well in our climate, even imder glass. Root pruning is performed in many ways, and is" quite as often serviceable to trees out-of-doors as under glass. The rudest method is to lay bare all the tops of the roots of trees which have grown too luxuriantly, and leave them thus exposed for a long time ; when the earth is removed to kill the eggs of insects, which is sometimes done, the roots must be left bare all winter ; but this is a very imperfect method. To prune the roots properly, dig a trench all round the tree, at the distance of 3 to 6 feet from the stem, according to its size ; dig deep enough to cut all the roots across ; leave it open a day or two, then fill back fresh earth. The operation may be performed in spring, summer, or fall, the latter being perhaps the best time for most trees. It is a very severe check to trees which have a large stock of leaves, and may some- times cause them all to wilt. The evident eifect of such pruning is to reduce very much the number of roots, and consequently the supply of sap ; when sap is supplied less liberally, the next growth is much less free, and the tree sets more fruit and less leaf-buds. Many trees, particularly standard Pears, which grow nothing but leaves, may in this way be thrown into full bearing. The reason for this change in the character of the buds is, that the sap flows more slowly, and being carried through a greatet number of leaves in proportion to its amount than before, - is bet- ter elaborated and ripened, made richer, and when it settles 310 JANUARY. into the buds it carries the elements of fruit rather than leaves, which demand a more rank and raw sap. For the same reason, branches which are bent down — whether the stem stands or is trained on an espalier — produce more fruit-buds ; the sap in them is retarded, ripened, and the buds show its quality by tending to fruit rather than to leaves. Grapes in Pots. — A few pages back I said that some vines could be grown in the peachhouse, and in a former month (Octo- ber), I gave a short notice of Grape-vines grown in pots. I there . mentioned that, as in the case of Peaches in tubs, the fruit can be forced in pots earlier than in the open ground, because the roots can receive a larger amount of heat and stimulus. I left those vines in their fall sleep previous to the commence- ment of the winter forcing. Let us now return to them. They sank to rest in the early autumn and may be kept in a perfectly quiet and cool condition till you decide to commence forcing, which may be as early as you please, since both tops and roots are en- tirely under your control. Vines started and well managed in De- cember, will ripen their berries in May. Before giving any heat, cover the vines with the wash recommended for Peach-trees ; re- move the pots soon after to some place where they may receive plenty of bottom heat ; if fires are not needed in any of the houses, plunge the pots in hot manure ; the roots may receive a heat of 75° to 80°. Before the buds break, remove a little of the powdery soil from the surface of the pot, and replace with rich, turfy loam. In order to make the buds break early, bend the canes into a circle. As soon as the young shoots show the bunches of Grapes, a selec- tion must be made, and no more bunches retained than the pot can well maintain ;• a 15 inch pot may be allowed six bunches, and for every variation of an inch either way a bunch may be added or subtracted. The after treatment is like that of .ordinary vines ; the shoots are stopped an eye beyond the bunch ; when the berries begin to swell for the last time, stop the shoots again. During growth water freely, and so train the shoots that they may have the most abundant light, as this, more than any thing else, adds to the strength of the vine, and the perfection of the fruit. Use ma- GEAPEEY. 311 nure-water till the fruit begins to ripen, when pure water only should be given and that in reduced quantity. Bottom heat may be kept during forcing as high as 80° ; atmospheric heat may be- gin at 45° and increase to 75°, or higher if the increase comes from the sun's heat ; night heat should fall at starting as low as 45°, and ■ never rise higher than 60°. In cold, dark days let the temperature stand at about the night heat. I repeat, that if you would succeed you must strictly observe the practice of nature. Remember that however hot the days may be in summer, the nights are, with very few exceptions, cool ; and that in cloudy weather, the days are but Uttle wanner than the nights. Plants understand this better than we, and grow accordingly ; and a little observation will show that at such times there is almost no growth, and what there is seems unhealthy unless ripened by a sun soon after. When the berries ripen, set the vines into a cool and light room, with a nocth exposure ; the fruit keeps better in the dark, as I have said, but the vines suffer, though this matters little if you do not in- tend to force them again. Vines well laden with fruit may be used very effectively with other plants or fruit, to ornament a dinner table. If you intend to force the vines again, when the fruit is cut, en- courage the ripening of the wood in every way ; prune it as soon as ripened, and treat as iu the years before. It will often be! found better not to force them two years in succession, but to lay them aside for a year and treat like young vines, that they may recruit and gain strength for future bearing. An improvement, as some think, on simple pot culture is trough culture. "The plants are from buds planted in pots, which are plunged into a heat of 80° to 90° ; when they have grown 2 or 3 inches they are repotted into 60s, in loam, leaf mould, sand, and a little decom- posed manure ; .they are replaced in bottom heat, the air kept sweet and pure. As soon as the roots have filled the pots, transfer them to 32's, using more manure in the compost. Set the pots as near the glass as possible, in a temperature of 70° to 80°. " When the pots are full of roots, shift to 8's, using a stronger compost, and draining thoroughly ; set them at least 5 inches from 312 JANUARY. the glass, and raise the temperature 5° to 10°. When the vines have grown 8 or 10 feet, stop them, and if they are healthy they will at once throw out laterals from the buds at the extreme ends. It is to be hoped no other buds will break ; pinch these top laterals when 6 or 8 inches long. But all laterals emitted from the base, if fruit buds, should be stopped at first joint ; — allowing the end lat- erals to grow freely is the best means of preventing the starting.of the other buds. Water freely during the whole time, and occa- sionally with liquid manure. When the wood is ripened, set the plants against a south wall, and protecting the roots from the frost let them remain as long as is prudent." " As the leaves fall off, shorten the canes to the required length, which will be regulated by their strength. The time for taking them into the house again will depend upon the time the fruit is to be ripened. Take the vines into the house in December ; they will then ripen in May. Begin the temperature at 55°, and grad- ually increase it to 70°. Keep the atmosphere moist by syringing, and if dry at the root give weak manure-water. To prevent the roots getting too damp, set the pots on pieces of brick, which also improve the circulation of air in the house : when the buds have well broken, transfer them into a trough of this kind : plank (or slate) troughs are carried the length of the house, about half way between the floor and the glass roof. The bottom of the troughs is made of crossed strips ; upon these lay pieces of turf 3 inches thick, to keep fine loam from sifting through ; upon the turf 3 inches of compost, made of equal parts turfy loam and rotted ma- nure, with a little sand ; remove the vines by turning the pot up- side down and lifting it off the ball ; examine the ball and take out worms and pieces of crocks, but do not break the roots or loosen the earth. Now set the balls into the loam in the trough, and 3 inches apart. Fill between the balls with the same compost ; cover the roots I5 inches deep. The plants are now as well off as if planted in an open border. Tie the canes of the front and back troughs to the rafters, and of the middle to the posts of the house, or to wires carried up to the roof. Syringe well, water occasion- ally, and pour the water on the ball and not upon the remaining earth, as the roots have not yet spread. When the shoots have GRAPERY. 313 fairly commenced to grow, stop them as in all other cases, leaving but one bunch to each, or 8 to 12 to every vine ; a heavier crop would injure both the color and the flavor of the fruit. "Water abundantly ; the superfluous water will run off through the open bottom of the trough. In this way the grower may produce Mus- cats as readily as any other Grape, and a constant succession of fruit may be kept up without forcing the permanently planted vines too early. After the fruit is cut, remove the vines carefully from the trough, and set them out of doors where the roots may be pro- tected from the sun ; they may be replaced by another set of vines for a late crop." " When the vine bordei-s are vaulted or well warmed by hot air, water, or steam, the vines growing in them may be forced as much as you please, but it is not judicious to do it, as the strength and long life of. the vine is sure to be injured. Pot or trough culture is equally favorable for retarding or for forcing grapes."* J. F. alEen's list or grapes. Cold-grapery. Forcing-house. Black Hamburgh, 10 Black Hamburghs, variety. Wilmot's New Hamburgh, 10 Red and Rose Chasselas. Wilmot's No. 16, 10 Chasselas de Bar Suv Aube. Victoria Hamburgh, 10 White Frontignan. White Frontignan, 2 Black and Grizzly Prontignan. Grizzly do., 2 Golden Chasselas. Pitmaston, white Cluster, 1 White Gascoigne. Golden Chasselas, 2 Royal Muscadine. Chasselas de Bar SurAabe, Muscat of Alexandria. Rose Chasselas, Tottenham Park. Red do.. Zinfindal. Royal Muscadine, Cannon Hall Muscat. Red Traminer, Red Traminer. White Rissling, Macready's Early White. Macready's Early White, Early Black July for extra early General Planting. — " Black Hamburgh for greatest num- ber ; Grizzly, Black and White Frontignan are all admired by those * Reduced from Mcintosh. 27 314 JANUARY. persons who like the Muscat flavor ; they are liable to shrivel, and are more delicate than other grapes, and do not keep well when ripe ; the Grizzly is the earliest of these. Tottenham Park Mus- cat is very like the above, but not so high-flavored : sets its berries better. Portuguese Muscat, Chasselas de Bar Sur Aube, Pitmaston, White Cluster, Syrian, white, has very large bunches, sometimes weighing 20 lbs." CHAPTER XL. KITCHEN-GARDEN. The cold beds containing various plants for spring culture and winter use, must be examined as often as the weather permits, and if we have the usual January thaw, they may be uncovered and receive light and air in abundance. In my last month's description of the treatment of hill-sides used as kitchen-gardens, I omitted one point of considerable importance ; viz., that a close board fence or close stone wall should be erected across the hill toward the top of the garden, if you propose to cul- tivate either early of late crops there. Beside the protection given by such a fence or wall against high winds, it is very important as a means of retarding frost ; and the lower down the hill it is, the better it works. You know that as air cools it condenses, becomes heavier, and falls to the earth, and when there, it runs like water over an inclined surface to the lowest level. Let the air on the top of a hill grow cool, it will run down the sides, if not so fast as water, yet in obedience to the same laws ; and as it runs lower down it becomes colder, until at the bottom of the hill it is cold enough to produce frost, though at the top it was merely cool. A clos9 fence coming down to the ground will stop this current of air as it would water, and either the air must find an outlet by running along the side of the fence, or it must pile up against it as water against a dam ; so that, in time, the air at the bottom of the fence will be cold enough to freeze, while higher up it is mild. This is not mere theory ; it has been practically proved, and plants growing on the lower side of such a fence, and opposite a hole in it next the ground, have been found frost-bitten at that part of the stem which was no higher than the top of the hole, but un- touched higher up. Here, then, is a means of increasing the value of your garden. 315 316 JANDARY. L - J \ ~2*Sf^ Tor Index of Village-Garden, 6ee p. 814. STREET VILLAGE-GARDEN. 317 Aa evergreen hedge will have the same effect ; so wiU a close hedge of any kind that spreads evenly over the ground when in full leaf. Now is the time to prepare the hotbeds for extra early forcing, though for ordinary forcing February is early enough. I shall enter into the details of managing hotbeds next month, and those directions may be applied to January, if you choose to begin so early ; but in general I advise against beginning such culture be- fore February. The earliest forcing of Lettuce, Salads, Endive, and Cauliflower, and the development of Cardoons, Chicory, etc., may be carried- forward in the forcing-house and cold-grapery. ^^greeably to my promise in last month's kitchen-garden, 1 shall now give drawings, details, and description, of the ViLLAGE-GAKDEN. — This garden may belong either to a man of wealth, or to one who liv6s by daily labor. I shaU describe it as if it belonged to the latter. A richer person may devote more to ornament, and malie more expensive improvements ; but I wish to show how one whose time and means are. both limited may get the most pleasure, beauty, and profit, out of his little garden. I assume that this place is half an acre in size, situated on a vil- lage street, and that a house is to be built on it. I have made it, like most village lots, a parallelogram, with no great difference be- tween its sides. The front on the street measures 125 feet, the depth is 174. The main house is 35 x 25 feet ; the L 15 x 20 feet ; piazza on the eastern side 6 x 30 feet. This makes quite a roomy house, larger, perhaps, than would be generally wanted by persons of small means. I make the entrance to the front within 8 feet of the south-east corner of the lot, and carry the path to the house with an easy curve. The distance is not thereby made much greater, yet by curving thus, and planting the swells of the curves with trees or shrubs, the house not only appears to stand farther back from the street, but its front may be somewhat concealed and rendered less public, and the occupations and amusements of its occupants made more private. My object in placing the house thus far back 27* 318 JANUARY. from the street, 40 feet, is to give an opportunity for both these effects. The house might as well be on the west as on the east side of the lot, but near one side it should be, in order to leave the land more in a body for economical or for ornamental purposes, and the side selected should generally be the one which is farthest from any neighboring house. Where the house is in the centre, the whole lot is cut up, and the place cramped. Not so with a house placed as in this plan, for we see at once that the little strip on one side is but a small portion of the place, whilst the other is of an undetermined size, and if the trees, etc., are well grouped, seems much larger than it really is ; the breadth thus secured enables us to vary fhe direction of our paths, so that they seem to traverse a large area, and we can make our flower-beds and plantations in good sized masses. The object in a small place is to avoid all standards for comparison, which may enable a critical visitor to compute readily its size. By judiciously varying the direction of the paths, con- cealing their terminations, filling their bends with trees and shrubs, so that standing on one part we may not see the rest, we practi- cally increase the size of the place. Straight lines and right angles reduce the area to its smallest possible size. They provoke a calculation, as follows : This path must be about so long to the first angle, and to the next thus much longer. There are 20 Pear- trees standing on it, 10 feet apart — 200 feet one way, 10 on the other — 20,000 feet in the place ! I do not mean to say that every visitor would thus reduce your place to figures, but that is the tendency. Again, if the space on the sides of your house is narrow, you can plant but a few trees, shrubs, etc. ; you can make no masses, or even tolerably sized groups ; you cannot hide your neighbor's house or boundaries ; they are constantly thrust in upon you. But by putting the house at one side, you increase the available area, and can make those groups and combinations which will be both ornamental and useful, and will serve to divert attention from the narrowness of your estate, to the great variety and beauty of the things which you grow on it. You will see as you follow this description through, that the VILLAGE-GARDEN. 319 place, small as it is, is really capable of producing a great quantity of material both for beauty and use ; and if this is so arranged as to be presented to the visitor's eye at diiFerent times and unexpect- edly, it will seem much more, and be more surprising. But the good effect is not for strangers alone. Gossiping and curiosity are the prevalent vices in our towns and villages, which it is the duty of each of us to check so far as he is concerned. If the grounds on each side of our house are so narrow as to bring oijr neighbor's affairs constantly under our eyes, it is difficult not to be too interested in them ; but if we have quite a large space on that side of our house which we most use, large enough both to conceal ou§ neighbors and to give us something beautiful of our own to look at, we remove from ourselves much of this temptation to meddlesomeness, and every time we look out of the window, our eyes rest on natural and peaceful beauties of our own, which soothe and interest us, and divert our attention from the business of other people to those objects which in themselves suggest instructive and pleasing trains of thought. Having started with the rule that we ought to make our homes as -beautiful as possible, Tor the sake of ourselves and our families, we must in carrying out the rule make due allowance for human nature. Perhaps our education has been purely practical, and we have been taught to value a piece of land with a house, solely for its productive capacity. We may admit the force^of the arguments for cultivating beauty, and yet find great difficulty in bringing ourselves to act accordingly ; and this difficulty will be increased, if the land on both sides of your house is equally narrow, for, as I have said, it is too narrow to admit of pleasing effects, without much contrivance and somewhat unnatural arrangement ; it will be much easier to arrange it with an eye to the practical, and we shall be more inclined to yield to our mistaken inclination. Now our duty is to strengthen ourselves against our meaner selves. Look at the plan, and see how, by placing the house as I have done, there is room on one side for nothing but the piazza, — cov- ered with vines, both for beauty and to act as a screen, — and an espalier for Pears, with the necessary borders for them to grow in. But on the other, ai'e first vines covering the house and embower- 320 JANUARY. ing the windows, next, little beds of bulbs and Verbenas in the turf, next, a larger flowei'-bed ; — then an ample path, then a fine, large Apple-tree, then more grass ; — trees and flowering shrubs, grass and espaliered fruit. The area is not great, — 75 feet wide, — yet by judiciously breaking it up and grouping pleasant things together, we secure a very great amount of diversity and beauty, a pleasant feast for the eyes at all seasons of the year. Now look at the space in front of the house, where are shrubs, flowers, grass, and trees, and yet but little space devoted to them. Whoever passes such a place, when the trees have attained their full beauty, will stop to enjoy the pleasant sight, and will say to himself that the children he sees playing about cannot fail to %o well in the world, if the influences within doors correspond to those without. Follow the path from the front door to the kitchen-garden'f You begin your walk through flowers and grass, shrubs, and trees ; as you proceed you come to stout and thrifty Pear-trees, well loaded with flowers or fruit ; among them are Currants, crimson with their beautiful fruit, or behind them, Strawberries ; beyond the waving tassels of Corn, most beautiful of grain crops, and at their feet yellow Squashes, golden Pumpkins, or ruddy Tomatoes As you round the curve, Peach and Cherry-trees greet you, and only as you turn a bend in the path do you come upon the henhouse and pigsty, where, well secured, are those animals which, if kept close, may be made to contribute to the economy and pleasure of the family; but which, if allowed to stroll about, are entirely de- structive to the garden, a trouble to their owner, and a pest and nuisance to his neighbors. The fowls lay their eggs everywhere but on your own premises, and scratch up and deface every part of the garden, while the pigs destroy every vestige of fruit, flower, and vegetable, and reduce the whole place to the appearance of an Irish hovel. So plain is this to every one, that my reference to it may seem superfluous, but it is lamentably true that even in thrifty New England towns and cities, people who would feel grossly insulted if their neighbors did not consider them respectable, allow their pigs to run at large, and the most common sight in every village is VILLAGE-GARDEN. 321 platoons of hens rummaging, scratching, and destroying the gardens of their owners, and of all the neighbors. Now you may lay it down as a fact, that it is hens versus gajrden. If the hens are not closely shut up throughout the growing season, your garden is good for notliing ; a few hours' investigation by a set of hens of active minds and legs, will reduce your best hopes in horticulture and floriculture to despair. And certainly one-half the ill-feeling between country neighbors is due to the ravages of the domestic animals, of one or the other. I have a garden, and sacrifice my hens ; soon my neighbor, who has no garden, but has hens, receives a notice from me, polite, perhaps, but sarcastic, that his hens are my nuisance, and must be abated. He promises well, but does nothing ; it is too much trouble or expense to him to shut them up, and any time will do. I send more and more messages. At last he shuts them up for a few days. I breathe more freely, and my terrified flowers, plundered Currant-bushes, and pecked Melons start anew to grow. But that henhouse was a temporary struc- ture ; its door falls off the hinges, or is left open by some one of the family, who goes to get eggs, carelessly or designedly, because I " needn't make such a plaguey fuss about a few old Currant- bushes or green Tomatoes," and I see the hens again in my garden. Now I am enraged ; perhaps I swear ; at any rate I stone the hens, and knock one in the head, but don't kill her, and in my wrath toss her over the fence after the others, where she performs sundry drunken evolutions, as running round in a circle a vast number of limes, with her head between her legs, or straigljt into the barn door, each foot stepping on the other as she goes ; she screeches, and all the other sympathizing fowls do the same. There is music. My neighbor rushes out, sees the whole story at a glance, comes to the fence, looks over, and calls me " a nasty, mean feller, to be so cruel as to hurt a poor hen, that never hurt me." At such times hen proprietors are very chicken-hearted, and have an unwonted supply of the milk of human kindness. To his abuse over the fence I perhaps say nothing ; perhaps I return it. In either case we are enemies ; we talk each other down at all village meetings, and my neighbor particularly pronounces me the meanest and most unneighborly of men. 322 JANUARY. This is a common experience. My neighbor doesn't consider he has done any thing mean to try my patience and ruin my garden ; the meanness is all on my side. Now I recommend all my readers to keep a gun, if it be not against the law to fire a gun within the limits of your town ; where it is, poisoned meal may take the place of the gun ; and after fair notice, to kill every trespassing hen. Do it early in the season. If you must have the quarrel, save your garden ; don't lose the garden and have the quarrel to boot. The house located, the general arrangement of the place is next to be determined, and that this may be intelligent and satisfactory, make a plan of it, as you would like it when completed to your mind. If your land is perfectly level you may represent it accu- rately on paper, and however uneven its surface may be, a plan is an important aid in laying it out. My directions for making this plan will be general, and the plan in the book may be taken as an ; illustration ; I shall return to my description of that plan presently. Measure off, upon a piece of drawing paper, the dimensions of your land — be it parallelogram or other shape — according to some scale : supposing your land to measure, on one side, 120 feet, allow on paper each inch of a foot-rule to measure 30 feet, each half-inch to measure 15 feet, and so on ; then one side of your plan will be 4 inches long. Go out and measure the distance from each front corner of the lot to the middle of the front of the house, also the distance from these corners to each corner of the house. Then measure the outside of the house all round, noting down the measurements as made. Eeturn to the house and find that point on your plan which corresponds to the middle of the front of the house. To do this set the legs of a pair of dividers by your scale of 30 feet to the inch, so as to measure the distance from one comer of tjie lot to the middle of the front of the house, as you have noted it down. Set one leg of the dividers on that corner in the plan, and with the other leg make as much of a circle on the paper as will reach from the front line back into the plan farther than you think the front of the house will be ; do the same thing with the corresponding measurement from the other corner, and where these two curves cross each other, will be the middle of the front VILLAGE-GAEDEN. 323 of the house on the plan. In the same way find the corners of the house on the plan ; connect these by a line drawn straight through the middle point, and you have the front line of the plan of your house. From this line measure out in accordance with your notes all the sides of the house, and be sure that all the angles corre- spond to the real ones. Having put the house upon paper, go out again and decide where you will put the gates, which will give ad- mission to the front and kitchen doors, bearing in mind what I have already said about them ; also select the position for the henhouse. These points settled, ascertain the relative positions on the boun- dary lines, and returning with these measurements, apply them to the plan. Now draw your path to the front door, then that to the kitchen, and to the piazza. If the local circumstances make straight paths the most desirable and pleasant, make them straight ; but otherwise curve them. If the surface is uneven keep the paths to the hollows as much as possible, and when you ascend a slope follow the easiest line of ascent. Curve the paths whenever this will enable you to produce a pleasant effect, by planting a group of trees or shrubs in the bend, or to give a good view of the house and gai-den, or for any good reason. Make them 5 feet wide at least. This will seem to you too wide to look well, a waste of ground, \ind involving expense in construction. In fact it will look better than any less width, and 6 feet is better than 5 ; for proof refer to any of the plans which accompany this book, where all the paths are 5 to 6 feet wide, and see that were they narrower the plans would look pinched and meagre. And as to waste of land ■ and money, it is not wasting to make a thing satisfactory, which you must have in some form or other, as you must paths; and surely a path, which forces friends to walk in " Indian file," and talk to each other over their shoulders, is not satisfactory, but very an- noying, and if it be over a small place, it forces us to notice and regret the narrow limits which lead to such scrimping. If on such a place the paths were wide enough for three or four persons to walk abreast, they would seem wasteful, for their breadth would be unnecessary and incongruous. If our path allows two persons to -walk abreast easily, it is wide enough ; I do not mean so that they can just squeeze along without treading on the border, but so 324 JANUARY. that they may walk, easily, side by side. And this brings us to a principle in path-making. Most persons think that paths are the most important features on a plan, and that how they look, and into what pretty shapes they divide a surface, are the important questions. But if paths are rightly placed, and of proper width, they are thi least important features in a place ; if badly placed, the most important. For a path should never attract notice to itself, any more than a coat or the frame of a picture to themselves. It is merely a means of ac- cess to something, and should be so managed as to afford this access in the pleasantest way, and to do nothing more. If wide enough, its width attracts no attention ; we walk along it, talking with our friends, and looking at the landscapes or the flowers. Draw your paths then 5 feet wide ; wherever two of them meet, round the corners so as to allow a wheelbarrow or a child's carriage to be drawn round them easily ; this, too, being no waste of room. Next fix the place for your well, if that is to be out of doors, and turn a path to it. Next assign a place for the clothesyard, which should be large enough for use, and no larger ; mark on your plan that this is to be surrounded by a hedge of evergreen, which, when grown, will effectually screen the yard from cold winds and from observation, so that washing-day may come and go unknown to any person outside the house. The next thing is to draw such a path as will traverse the whole garden, giving access to the henhouse on the way. Avoid sharp turns and corners, and it will seem to lead on without reference to the boundaries, whether near or distant, crooked or straight. Curve it to avoid inequalities in the surface, and for the sake of grace and beauty, but make all its curves as long and easy, and gently-chang- ing as possible. A comparison between a straight and a crooked line, is almost always in favor of the straight ; its simplicity and di- rectness fills us with disgust for crooks, and sharp, unnecessary turns. The same principle will guide our choice between well and ill-curved lines ; the best curve, like the line of beauty, possesses the good qualities of the straight line, and seems appropriate ; the bad curve,' like the wriggle of a wounded snake, is like the crooked line, mpa.nincrless. Tin not think that hp.cn.iisfi a. line is not straierht VILLAGE-GAKDEN. 325 -a it is beautiful. For instance, let -i a, a, and b, h, be paths over the same surface. If that surface were very uneven, and h, i, followed its undulations, or was lost among copses of trees and opened at every turn on some pleasant sight, it would be appropriate ; but if short, and over a level sur- face as in our garden, the worst possible path. The changing path should beguile us along unconscious of any change, except as new objects are brought into view. A gentleman once objected to a change made in his grounds, which would alter some straight paths to curved, that he should never like it, could never get along with it, for he was accustomed to walk much lost in reverie, or in thought, and should be con- stantly running into the borders if his paths were curved. This was a perfectly natural feeling ; his idea of a curve was a crooked, hump-backed line. The change was made in accordance with the principles just laid down, and to this day he walks lost in his medi- tations, and has never yet been wrecked on the dreaded borders. Our garden path was to give access to the henhouse, but should not quite touch it. Such a building should stand as far back from the line of direct walking as convenience will allow, for although it is useful and desirable, it is generally ugly and noisome. The for- mer objection may be removed by vines well trained ; the latter by sprinkling the pigpen occasionally with diluted sulphuric acid, and covering the floor of the house with plaster of Paris, chloride of lime, or charcoal, all of which answer the same purpose, being ab- sorbants of ammoniacal, and other gases valuable for manure but disagreeable to smell. You will now make, agreeably to directions before given, as many espaliers and of such kinds as you please. In the plan, to which we now return, there are 365 feet of espaliers, giving 45 trees 8 feet apart; of these 2 are Figs (sometimes they will bear, and some- times not, — but as curiosities have them), 4 Nectarines, 6 Apricots, 12 Peaches, 3 Plums, 3 Cherries, 15 Pears. Had you no other fruit these would be enough, but I shall let you have more. Where the paths A and B cross, you may turn back a short path, which will render access from one to the other easier ; in the little trian- 28 326 JANUARY. gle tlius left, you may put an Apple-tree ; it will do less mischief there than anywhere else. In so small a place plant no Apples in the borders, unless they are dwarfs ; for when Apples are plentiful they are very cheap, and when scarce, your trees are not likely to do better than your neighbors ; and no tree is so unprofitable in a small place as the Apple. It covers a large surface, shading it so that no smaller tree can grow, and gives no compensating return. Dwarf Apples are not so bad, but I should never plant any. Cherries are about as bad, but occupy less room, so that I have put in a few in those swells of the path where there is room enough, also in places where you want a screen. Set dwarf Pears around the inside of the paths, 10 to 12 feet apart, as before described; our place will accommodate 18. We shall thus have 33 Pear-trees, the annual value of whose fruit will be not less than $2 per tree, when well established, and more if you use them yourself. For di- rections about planting, etc., refer back. Set currants between the Pears, each bush 3 feet from a tree, their centres 4 feet apart ; there may be 50 Currants ; in the place of some of these you can sub- stitute Gooseberries if you choose. From the clothesyard, measure back a strip of land 50 feet long and 5^ wide, which will be large enough for the smallest sized Asparagus bed described under the directions for the culture of that vegetable. I have made it 12 feet wide to insure a sufficient supply. At right angles to the lower or north end of the Aspara- gus bed, are rows of Horseradish ; cultivate this as I have directed, and short as the rows are, they will furnish enough for any family. At the west of the clothesyard is the Raspberry bed, 6 rows allowing 125 plants at 3 feet apart, and 2 feet in the row. Perpendicular to the Raspberry and Asparagus beds, are 7 rows of Strawberries of different lengths, quite enough to give a good sup- ply through the season. Enclosed by these different beds is an area, not large certainly, but enoiigh to give, under good manage- ment, an abundant supply of summer vegetables. By planting only so many vegetables as will suflBce for your family, you may have an abundance and variety for that purpose ; but if you are possessed with the usual spring mania for planting everything in large quantities, you will be cramped for room. Twenty VILLAGE-GARDEN. 327 Tomato plants will give all the Tomatoes any common family needs, and allow some for preserving and pickling, and they need not oc- cupy more than 400 square feet of land. Let other things be in like proportion. You should no more think of growing Potatoes on such a small place, than of planting Apple-trees ; all such large- growing crops ai'e too unwieldy for a small garden. You observe on both east and west sides of the place, the espaliers are carried past the house and into the grass land. You must allow a border here at least 12 feet wide (taking both sides of the espal- iers) for the roots of the trees ; this must not be cropped with any thing, but must be well manured. Pears, as I have said, need plenty of manure and moisture, whilst Peaches and similar fruit are injured by strong manure ; and by manuring around those trees upon a pretence of taking a crop, the trees are injured, although you may get good crops of other things. You will see on the left of path A on a bend, 4 Quince-trees 8 to 10 feet apart, and 2 by the henhouse ; these 6 trees are enough for your family. Return now to the front and ornamental part of the place. On each half of the eastern side of the house are vines ; 2 Woodbines at each comer ; next, 2 monthly Honeysuckles ; next, 2 Roses (Queen of Prairie and Rosa-ruga) ; in the middle a Virgin's Bower, or Clematis Virginiana, and Clematis Azurea, Grandiflora, and Flammula (white and fragrant). On the front of the house, on either corner, a Monthly Honeysuckle ; on each side of the door, Woodbine ; between door and either corner, Boursault Rose, and Mrs. Hovey (Prairie). On west side 8 vines ; at north-west corner. Monthly Honeysuckle; at south-west, Wisteria; next to each of these a variety of Clematis ; next, Trumpet-creeper and Woodbine ; in the middle, Sweetbrier, and annual vines. In each hole may be planted some tubers of the Apios, the wild Ground-nut, and of the Madeira vine ; and in the proper places where it will show to advan- tage, the Ipomea Learii and others. The two latter should be taken up in the fall, as the frost destroys them. On the west and north L of the house. Grape-vines are put, and if the varieties are well selected, and carefully pruned and trained, you will be able to ripen the 828 JANUAKT. Grapes on the north exposure, though the east and south are better of course. Either the Concord, Hartford, or Diana Grape will ripen there ; the Isabella and Catawba must have more sun ; and the Ca- tawba does not ripen with certainty anywhere in our latitude. The east side of the house may be devoted to Grape instead of orna- mental vines if you choose. I prefer the ornamental. The henhouse may be covered with grapevines ; over the well, too, which you see just where the kitchen path B reaches the house, a little well- house may be erected and covered with vines. Hop-vines thrive in such a place, and although this is not the best way to cultivate the Hop for a crop, it will give shade and some hops. Ascertain what objects in the neighborhood should be screened from sight, and what are agreeable ; fix these points on paper (to a scale). Let A be a window in the house, from which the object B is to be concealed ; draw ^ the lines A C, A D, which shall embrace between them the whole of the dis- agreeable object ; plant in the triangle thus formed trees as gracefully grouped as possible, and unless by expanding the group you would shut out something you wish to see, spread them out beyond both lines enough to make a pleasing group. Carefully compare the size and shape of the different trees with which you might make the screen ; to determine which you will need draw imaginary lines in the air, which will enclose the top and bottom of the object, and by them judge how high your leafy screen must be. When the trees and shrubs are selected, mark their names down on paper, and put the points which show the stems at least 10 feet apart, and as much more as the future size of the tree will allow consistently with its purpose of a screen. Here let me notice a pestilent theory which has taken possession of the minds of some planters, who getting a theory apply it at all times and places, regardless of the principle which is its life. This notion is that in planting groups of trees they should be placed as far apart as they ought to stand 20 or 30 years later in order to have i^i? VILLAGE-GARDEN. 329 their perfect development. No theory could be better where a group is made for its beauty alone, with ample room and free choice of material, for in no other way can the greatest amount of beauty be obtained ; but where trees are planted to screen an unsightly object, this theory has no place. What you want is a screen, and to get this you might put up a high, close fence, were it not ugly, expensive, and perishable; you prefer trees because they have neither of these defects, and form in time a perfect screen ; but you defeat your purpose unless yoii plant thickly, so thickly that in a few years the object of your planting will be secured. If you must wait ten or twenty years for this, you will either become so accustomed to the nuisance as to be careless whether it is- hidden or not, or you will cease to wait for earthly things. Again, it is foolish when planting for a screen to use such trees only as will have the greatest individual beauty when full grown, for they may . be slow growers or short-lived. You may secure the result at which the theory aims and yet have your screen, not-by mixing slow-growing or distant trees with shrubs, the latter to spring up and make the screen without crowding the trees ; but by adding to these, trees of a rapid growth and short life, which will serve as nurses to the slower-growing trees, and will soon make a screen which can be cut down as soon as the permanent trees are large enough to take their place. I would use permanent trees and shrubs when and where the latter are high enough to cover the object, and should like them better than trees, but only if sure they would do this. 28* 330 JANUAKT. In case that whilst there are some objects like roads, unsightly- buildings, windows of inquisitive neighbors, which you wish to " plant out," and others which you wish to retain in view, reverse the practice just described. B, C, and D to be shut out, and A to be seen if possible from the whole line E F, either because it con- nects windows of your house, or because it is a favorite promenade. Draw on the plan, or beyond its edge, on the same paper, the loca- tion of the three objects ; then draw the lines E A and F A, and E B and F D ; make the most varied plantations you can between E B A and FAD, and connect if possible these groups of trees with shrubs, thus. You will get a varied outline, beside aoncealing and showing respectively the given objects. Where a group is planted for other purposes, the guiding princi- ples are very different, as I have said, and for them I refer you to the month of September, where the subject is more fully discussed, and to future months. If circumstances do not permit you to study and imitate any par- ticular group of trees, if there is none in your neighborhood which you care to study, you must be guided by this consideration : in selecting and planting your trees, both the beauty of the individuals or their appearance in combination must be considered, in your es- timate of the pleasure to be derived from them. As I have repeat- edly said, variety is an important constituent of the beautiful, and its presence is a powerful inducement to the mind to consider new things, while the enjoyment of familiar things is prolonged. How- ever beautiful any one object is, — supremely so if you please, — it will pall on the mind at times ; you may be an enthusiast (though not a monomaniac), may sell all you have to obtain some work of art, may enshrine it in the most appropriate manner, may visit or live with it, may show it with a torrent of enthusiasm to your friends ; yet there will be times when it loses its control over your mind and eye ; you will go to other things less beautiful. Leave it then for other things — inferior things; freshen your soul and eye with them, and when you return the old love will re-assert its control with new power. This undeniable fact controverts a theory, which from the time of Gilpin and other authorities in landscape gardening to the pres- VILLAGE-GARDEN. 331 ent day, has had many advocates ; viz., that any spot to be im- proved should be planted with trees entirely or mainly of one kind, as in no- other way can great effects be produced, and the full beauty of the trees be ascertained. This is not true even on the large scale of mountain and forest, as each man's experience will testify. . Recall the scene you admire and love most, count over in memory, or on* the spot, the varieties of trees which are blended together to produce the effect ; there are not only trees, but vines mounting the trunks, and throwing their wreaths over the branches and top, and by changing form and color, giving new and unwonted life to the whole. Lower down at their roots are shrubs of many kinds, and their feet again are fringed with flowers. I admit that in a case like the 27 Oaks at Waverly, Mass., the pleasure is in the individual trees, whose perfection and magnificence is not surpassed in the United States, nor could they be improved, by planting other trees amongst them, but there is no oak effect ; it is the beauty of old and individual trees, which have been growing only 600 years, and are not likely to be reproduced in much less time. All of us know of some dark, solemn Pine wood, in a deep glen, where no other trees seem to exist ; but the peculiar beauty of those Pines is seen and felt only when we are within the wood, not when we look at it from a distance ; its depths have a variety not to be found on its skirts ; it is the dim-colored light, the whispering winds, the contrast of the columnar stems with top and foliage, the intermixture of shrubs, etc. ; while the spot in the wood most loved is where a break in the trees has opened a bit of water, or a pros- pect, or where has sprung up a ruddy Maple or a golden Hickory. To try the theory by a smaller scale, and on our plan ; south- east of the house is a group of 9 trees, 5 of which are in a row, that worst of all positions for good effects. Red Maple in front will relieve its red blossoms in early spring against 3 White Pines, and contrast its light budding spray, and irregular shape with the more stubbed branches and elliptical outline of the Sugar Maples, and the fastigiate Elm and Tulip-tree. In the fall its gold and red will be heightened by the dark green of the background ; before its color is gone it will be taken up, as is a song that was gradually hushing away by stronger voices, and the brilliant Sugar 332 JANUARY. Maples will bring back the fading glory, and carry it up to a yet higher resplendence, always intensified by the deep green of the Pines on one side, and the English Elm on the other. Can any- body maintain that this group would be better all Pines, all Maples, all Elms ? And as I have just hinted, color is not the only gain by this arrangement ; the shape and variety of spray are equally beautiful, and in their turn contribute fully as muc^ to the beauty of the whole. Variety is an element of beauty in virtue of the contrast it affords. What is more bewitching than the tracery of the Elm against a winter evening sky ? Words cannot describe its beauty, its magical effect, no hand can trace it or reproduce it ; the interlacing of the branches overhead, the arches and beams of this member of a cathedral that would have delighted medieval build- ers. And in the spring, when the tree feels down in its vitals the moving power of the early sun, and long before other trees have swelled their buds, expands its own, how — just as they burst into flower — the same tree which we so much admired for the purity, distinctness, and variety of its spray, and its crossing branches in fall and winter, seems now, in the light of the setting sun, to have entangled in its network one of those rare purple mists of autumn ! and to have woven it into a garment as beautiful in color as the Tyrian purple of old, which none but kings might wear, and as deli- cate in texture as those fabrics of the Eastern loom, which may be passed through a ring, and are yet ample enough to clothe an East- em beauty, whose form and limbs are not more lovely than those of that same noble American Elm. Look now at our grouping in the south-east corner, where such an Elm stands surrounded by stiff Maples, Ashes, and Pine trees, and heralded by Norway Spruces, whose picturesque grace is a good preparation for a true appreciation of the Elm. If then you are making a group on your plan, remember that you are to introduce a variety of trees in a variety of positions, and so placed that each will be seen to the best advantage, and combine into the most graceful whole. Around and among these trees, plant those shrubs which will grow in the shade, and on the edges of the group, others needing more light ; and the group may be rendered yet more beautiful by fringing these edges with Asters VILLAGE-GARDEN. 333 and Golden-rods. In another place will be given a list of suitable trees and sbrubs. Our flower-beds are placed according to previous advice ; the round ones directly under the windows are for bulbs, and later for bedding plants, or such annuals as you prefer. FiU the other beds with a choice selection of perennials, with spaces for other varieties of plants. CHAPTER XLI. ORCHARD AND FARM. In the orchai-d continue to prune ; remove and biim the brush. It is well to hurry this work a little, as there will soon be more demands on the limited labor of the farmer ; take scions the last of the month. Throughout this book I assume that the balance sheet of profit and loss in dollars is not the only test of rural improvements or the sole inducement to agricultural labors. Burns has said : — " The rank is but the guinea stamp, Tlie man's tlie gowd for a' that," and it needs very little reflection to see that in those two lines llie history of the world is written. Success in a worldly point of view is desirable, and its evidence speaks to all men, in better clothes, better houses, better equipage, — in the " guinea stamp." And this is worth some effort to gain ; it is natural and proper that men should strive for those things which contribute to their own comfort and pleasure and consequence, which elevate them in the opinion of the world. But good as it is to be current coin in this way, ho\^ worthless it is in comparison with being the gold of true manhood. Education is the watchword of New England. Now how would you educate your children ; by sending them among coarse, sensual, semi-barbarous people, or by associating them with the refined and noble ? The latter, of course ! If you, as a farmer, have a crea- ture to fatten, yoil put it in the most favorable circumstances, you give it the best pasture, the most abundant supply of water, the mildest temperature, you do not allow it to be worried by dogs or 334 ORCHARD AND FARM. 335 boys ; you give it shade from the fierce sun, and shelter from the biting wind. This is right ; this is good farming. So if you have a child to educate, and v'ish to make him -a noble man, true gold, surround him with the most favorable influences. Assuming, then, that the aim of every man is, whilst he gets his " living,'' to develope himself fully, he cannot place himself more favorably than by following some occupation which will constantly carry him into the fields and woods, and bring him into close com- munion with nature, where every influence will be for good. Look how these influences surround the farmer ! he works for his daily bread. It is hard work, but he does it thankfully, because it as- sures him that the blessings of home and love will be continued to him, without fear of famine and ruin. As he goes out to his early work, he sees sights that would well repay any man for severe toil : the colors of the sky at sunrise, the glistening of the dew- drop, the general wakening of nature. The songs of birds come to his ears, the flower under his foot speaks of beauty and wisdom, the fields have a voice that is pouring out praise to God. As he turns the mould with the ploughshare, a bit of quartz or spar catches his eye, attracts his curiosity, and leads him through pleasant thoughts of geology, how these crystals were formed, of the structure of the globe, the stratification of rocks, the formation of soils. The tree he is cutting bends, and as it falls shows him the rings which have marked its growth, and starts his thoughts afresh — upon the wonderful structure of trees, the phenomena of growth, the wonders of reproduction. Every graft or bud he puts in, teaches him vegetable history. As he goes to the barn at night, the cry of a calf new bom from a cow of a favorite breed, which promises to be the most perfect of his stock, arouses a thou- sand thoughts of the providential wisdom which not only secures the perpetuation of races, but provides man with the means of improving each race of animals to ultimate perfection. His labor over, he returns to his house, lying warm and glowing in the rays of that setting sun, whose rising was so beautiful and so dehghted him. The rich, yellow light gilds the tops of tree and chimney, is lost in the deep shadows of the pond shore, or sparkles in the spray of the waterfall. With a painter's eye and a poet's 336 JANUARY. soul, he drinks in these sights, and involuntarily thanks God for his lot, and pities the poor inhabitants of cities, condemned to pass their lives within brick w^Us, and shut out except for a few brief days in the stated summer vacation from the feast daily spread before him. You will say, " How absurd a picture is this ! to find a fanner earnest and enthusiastic, poet, artist, and naturalist, is as rare, as impossible, as to invent perpetual motion." I grant it is rare ; but by no means impossible. We have several senses, sources of pleasure or pain ; of these, sight and hearing are the two most valued, and productive of most pleasure. Suppose a man possessed of all these senses to put out his eyes. In horror you ask his reason for the act. " Oh," he says, " the dust gets into them, the sun dazzles them ; and besides I was near-sighted, and could not see half so much as you, and I never thought half a loaf better than no bread." Or suppose him for the same reason to tie a bandage over his eyes, and keep it there the greater part of the time ; his eyes would soon grow weak ; he would lose his sense of color, and his discrimination of form. You meet him at a time when the' ban- dage is removed, and congratulate him on the enjoyment he must receive from the beauties of nature. He peevishly asks. What beauties ? for his part all things are alike, the annoying sun makes such a dazzle, 'tis hard work to keep his eyes open ; every thing is green, and one thing so like another that there is no variety worth looking for. You reason and remonstrate, point out the difference between things as he sees them and as they really are, perhaps tell him it is because his eyes are weakened that he does not see as you see. He listens with a tired patience, and says in conclusion. It is very well for you to say so, but he can't see it as you do, and if a man isn't to believe his own eyes, what can he believe ? You would leave such a man in disgust ; and perhaps you are now thinking me tedious and foolish for putting the absurd case, — an4 yet it is possible that you are that blindfolded man. You read these accounts of what farmers may see, hear, and know, and you call it all twaddle and nonsense. You "know better ; " you've farmed it all your life, and know 'tis hard work ORCHARD AND FARM. 337 and lots of it, and little profit in it, and a dog's life, and kills the women folks, and makes all hands too glad to go to bed at dark to stay up and admire Venus, and the comet or the moon, or to read and think. City people and rich folks may go about the country and see what they call beauty, but for your part you don't believe in it Trees are sort of pretty, and you don't know but 'tis well enough for the women folks to have a few flowers in the front yard, but you've something else to do. You don't see any beauty in having to get up early and milk, — maybe it is as I say, but you don't see it, — and as for geology and botany, and all that, and structure of the earth, that's book learning, and not for poor folks like you. Chopping wood is hard work ; you can't stop to count rings, and if you should, how would you know that they really did show how old the tree was ? But I won't go on quoting from you. You know it is all true as weU as I, and you are blind and won't see ; you not only have put a bandage over your eyes, but you won't let any one take it off. You know best, and if you can't believe your own eyes, what can you beUeve ? Do you suppose that a nice sense of the beautiful is the common property of man, and that you would have it as much as another, if you were to have had it at all ? The appreciation of the beau- tifiil is the result of much self-culture added to natural quickness of sight My mind may be naturally rtiore apt to learn some things than is yours, but you can cultivate yours as I mine. The eyes of all are not alike, and yet education brings every eye to see those things it wishes to see. Turn a city laborer into the woods, where he must get his living by hunting, and 'defend himself against savage men and beasts,, and his eye, hitherto ignorant of woods and woodcraft, will become in time so acute that he wiU fol- low a trail for miles through the primeval forest, and know whether it was made by man or beast, how many have travelled it, and whether fait or slow. Early education makes a great difference in this, and some men are more acute and will learn these signs more easily than others, but all can and will learn them under ne- cessity. So the sailor sees objects barely visible on the distant horizon, and discriminates between the spouting of a whale and the sail of a vessel, knows a ship from a barque, a schooner from 29 338 JANUARY. a brig, will tell you whether a ship under bare poles is a merchant- man or a man-of-war, — all at a distance where you and I, lands- men, can scarcely see any thing without a glass. Yet if we wish to learn this, we shall. Those who are most remarkable for their love and appreciation of beautiful things, make them their constant study, seek them out whether near or distant, compare one with another, note their ex- cellencies, and use each new object as an aid toward understanding and enjoying others. When you commenced farming you knew but little about cows, horses, stock of any kind ; you went to cattle-shows, examined your neighbor's stock, looked for points of excellence ; and have finally educated your eye so that you are a better judge of stock than your neighbors, and thus make your stock more profitable than theirs. Precisely in the same way can you educate and refine your mind. By studying the beautiful, and inquiring into the mysteries of nature, you will render yourself as much more tasteful than your still slumbering neighbors, as your stock is more improved than theirs ; and the gain in this kind of development is immense. Money at interest doubles in a fixed number of years, but the wealth invested in the mind often doubles in days, and each day opens new stores of pleasure and instruction. You are no mere dweller on the earth's surface, but a confidant of Nature's myste- ries, a growing man. You and I see at the railroad station a wonder-working and queer looking machine of enormous power ; we understand that by fire, and water, and iron, its marvels are wrought, but we are un- initiated, not at all acquainted with the life and workings of the machine ; its boiler and steam chest, valves, pumps, etc., are all " unknown terms " to us, and while we admire the engine and its results, we regret our ignorance of its mysteries. If some kind engineer explains the wonderful machine, is patient with our ignor- ance of principles and details, until we become fully possessed of its theory and construction, what a revelation seems to be made! It is no longer a strange and terrible beast of burden, but an ac- quaintance. When it passes us, dragging its long train of cars, we no more feel inclined to do homage in blind reverence, but would OECHARD AND FARM. 339 salute with the same earnest God-speed as though it were a great, powerful, honest fellow, bravely laboring up the hill of life with his load. We have learned something — principally a lesson about our own ignorance ; — a ray of light has gleamed into a hitherto closed chamber of our minds, not only making us aware, with its pleasant light and warmth, that we have such a chamber, but show- ing us how empty and hung with cobwebs our mind is. We feel that an unexplored field of discovery is opened to us, that we may go on with the enthusiasm and promise of explorers ; for it is the privilege of learners not to stop with any one lesson, not to be de- pendent on any instructor, however able, not to cease when the limits of present knowledge are reached, but to go on and add to that knowledge. We cut down a tree to burn, a common thing, and of no great consequence. What if the tree has been growing many years, and is the result of vast natural processes ? It is but a tree. The sap begins to stir beneath a spring sun ; we see the buds swell, the flowers and leaves expand, the fruit mature : an every-day thing, the natural result of the change of the seasons. Study the anatomy and physiology of the tree ; humble your conceit a little ; do not think it beneath the dignity of a man, earning money and carrying on a household, to be as a little child. Look first at the little seed, swelling with heat and moisture ; be- fore you are aware, noiselessly, and yet exerting a prodigious force, the tender little radicle, or first root, and the still more deli- cate plumule or first stem and leaf have burst the coats, which the whole mechanism of the plant was a year in forming for them. The rootlet goes down into the ground, and thgplumule up into the air. Cut such a little plant into delicate slices, and place a bit under a magnifying glass ; you now see that it is full of living cells, end to end, hardly stronger than water, and seeming the most fragile of things. You are told this is vegetable tissue, the principal constituent of all vegetation. A few weeks later cut a section of another little plant, which has opened a few leaves ; on examining the section as before, you see mixed with the cells small bundles of harder fibres ; these you learn are woody fibres, which, when compacted enough, make the solid trunks of trees. A 340 JAN0AET. section taken still later in the season shows its centre full of what you have long known as pith, surrounded by a minute ring of cells, woody fibre, and cells again ; these outer cells, on examination, look different in shape and closer together than the inner ones ; you do not yet know why, and — forgetting the shame-faced unwilling- ness of the man to learn like a little child — you get a section of a plant of two years' growth, and find in it two distinct rings around the inner pith, and two distinct rings of outer cells, or what you call bark. The cells of the outer rings differ as before from the inner, and resemble each other, only the outer of all has its cells most closely bound together. A three year's old plant shows you three rings of woody fibre, but two of outer cells ; the two of last year have become one, while there is still a young bark within. The next spring you make a cut across the stem of one of these plants, and find three layers of woody fibre as before, with another layer almost woody, and nearly three layers of bark. In the fall the same plant has four layers of wood, and only two of bark ; you now see that what was nearly woody in the spring is quite so now, and what was nearly bark then is now quite bark, whilst the second ring of the spring is lost in last year's bark. Now you believe that ring of wood shows a year's growth, and you are excited to know more. Beading or investigation teaches you that in the early spring the sap is taken up by the roots, sent up through the woody fibres into the twigs, and thence into the leaves, where it is spread out to ripen ; and when ripened, is sent down to feed the growth of new twigs, and noui-ish the cambium layer which makes new bark and new wood. Farther study tells you that the wood and the new roots alone contribute to the life of the tree, and that so'far as this is concerned, every ring but that of last year, might be removed without affecting the vitality of the tree. Thus you get insight into nature's operations ; you see the life of the tree, — are taken behmd the veil. You can ahnost hear the trickling of the water in the spring to the roots, — its gurgling as the sap runs up the stem and down again into the wood and bark. You really believe now that the leaves are the lungs of the tree, and that it is of no use to manure your trees near the stem, but the manure must be put out ORCHARD AND FARM. 341 where the new roots are forming. The tree is no longer merely a thing to bear fruit, give shade, orfiiel; it is an organized being, with the most wonderful and delicate mechanism, and as much the object of the bounties and cares of Providence as are animals and men. Insensibly you are led on to new researches ; you no longer plant your crops mechanically ; you think how the buds and leaves of one will differ from those of another ; buds, tubers, seeds, all have a new meaning for you. You no longer look on the rain and sun- shine as sent for the crops of yourself and other men, but compre- hend that Grod kindly allows you to understand and take advantage of his mysteries, and that the real work of the season is done by the wind, the rain, the sunshine, and the organs of the plants ; that all your powers and efforts are weak and useless, compared to these ; and you begin to go about your work more reverently. Tou read how stones decay, form soils, and feed plants, and you wonder thgtt rough, hard stones, can be taken up into the dehcate cells you have seen under the microscope ; so you are led to consider the different stones, how some are more easily dissolved than others, and to wonder if these are not the ones used by plants. Inquiry shows that they are ; then you wonder whether the supply is equal to the possible future demand. You begin to read about the rocks, and are led on into their history, and into that of the formation of the earth's crust, into accounts of the kinds of stones, the way they lie as respects each other. Your mind is rapidly growing. When next you plough, you put the share in deep, to bring up more of these stony particles to the roots of the crops ; you hoe with some understanding, and it is no longer dusty, dirty work, but an aid to nature's laboratory process ; you are stirring the soil to break up stones and clods, and set free their particles, to open them to the dissolving power of rain and the life developing influence of the sun. Perhaps you meet some day a man with a curious stone in his hand ; you look at it, and say, " Oh ! yes, shells ! " he looks at you with surprise, and asks if you know about them ; half ashamed, you say, " "Well, no ; but then, I've always seen them." He tells you, pointing with his finger, these are shells, those ferns, those corals ; he shows you a Trilobite, and explains that it was the earliest ani- 29* 342 . JANUAET. mal of its kind ever introduced into the world. He points you to the river bed with its bold sides, where the waters have cut their way through the solid rock, a hundred feet deep, two hundred wide, and carries you, half against your will, to the stream. You know well the Hemlocks and Arbor Vitses, which fringe the bank from its top to the water's edge ; you have hunted and fished among them many a time in your boyhood ; — he lifts a layer of moss, and shows you the bare rock as full of shells, ferns, and corals, as the piece which first attracted you in his hands. With a few words he carries you back through the long path of ages, and shows you the earth as a sea, full of creeping and swim- ming things, that died, and were buried under sand or clay, and turned at last, into stone, and so have been kept imperishable till to-day, for you and him to study and decipher. Thus another page of the book of nature is opened to you, and you grow excited. He finds you a willing listener, and tells you how in that world of waters, convulsions of the globe formed dry land, on which grew trees of gigantic size, and of species now unknown, or only repre- sented by dwarfed vegetation ; how they were buried in the earth ; and, as they grew by absorbing sunshine, so now they are dug up as coal, to return in the fires of wintry climates, the condensed sun- beams of ages so long passed away, that the interval can hardly be numbered in years. He leaves you delighted, astonished, eager for more such knowledge. Now you believe that you have had a bandage over your eyes, that you had at best but half your eyesight, and you no longer answer to one who tells you of nature's wonders and beauties, that you can't see them, and therefore don't believe in their existence. Remembering how blind you were, you are cautious. Still you say, — openly or to yourself, — This is all true and wonderful, and a good thing to know, because it enables one to get his living more easily and understandingly ; and besides, such knowledge does ex- pand the mind, and make one more of a man, and thus place him higher in the esteem of his neighbors ; it is practical and useful ; but the time spent over beauty and art, and looking at the landscape, is wasted ; such employment can only be justifiable in men of great wealth and ample leisure. In fact you feel fortified ORCHARD AND FARM. 343 in tl.is position by your recent discovery of tho things to be learned. They are so many that you want for the farther study of them every moment of that time, whith you have discovered since you cared to look for it can be given even by the hard-worked farmer, during which you can manage to keep awake, though you once felt quite too weary to do any thing but sleep after supper ; and if your work takes up all the daylight, and your scientific studies all the time you can spare from sleep, what remains for this star and land- scape gazing, this fine idling. Do not think that since the bandage was taken away you have seen all that is to be seen. There is to be a wider range to your vision. You have learned to admire and love things at which you once sneered, have learned that they are for you as well as for the rich and the men of leisure, and they have lightened your toil, and given a new value to life. You have tasted the exquisite pleasure of mental growth, and should be wiser than to think yourself familiar with the full extent of this joy. Learn now that the greater ease with which you get your living, tlie higher stand you have taken in the estimation of your townsmen, since you began these studies, is but a small part of their value, is, indeed, merely an accessory of their value, which really lie in the degree of help they give you in carrying out the law of mental and spiritual growth. You have found out that the man who only does his work, eats his allowance, and begets his children, is but one remove above the brute ; and even if he does this honestly and morally, you think him entitled to no great credit for doing what is no more than what is his duty. You are rising ; but the wings have but just begun to grow, which shall finally lift you high enough from the earth to see what that word dviy means. That word, among many other things, will grow more full of meaning as you grow more full of understanding. Believe me, that as much as ypu have gained by becoming a pupil of those, at whom you once wondered or sneered, you may gain just as much more, and of a far higher quality, by listening to the lessons of beauty which Nature is ready to read to you and they to expound. This sense of the beautiful is not to be created, but only to be cultivated in you ; it exists in you already, and practical as you 344 JANUARY. consider yourself, it has much to do with your likings and dis- likings ; under another name, indeed, but with an unmistakable resemblance to the feeling which moves |)oets and artists. You have in your stable two heifers ; one straight-backed, with a small head, fine neck, tapering limbs ; the other high in the rump, big-jointed, coarse-headed, clumsy limbed. One you call handsome, the other homely. You like to look at the one, and dislike to look at the other, entirely apart from their relative qualities as a matter of profit. One of your yokes of oxen is sprightly and well-formed, with small heads, small and shapely horns ; the other is awkward, heavy-headed, and large-limbed. Again you pronounce one yoke handsome ; the other you say are " monstrous fellows to work, but homely," and you " rather hate " to drive them yourself ; you send a hired man or boy with them, and work the others yourself. Your mind insensible to beauty ? By no means. As you drive up to your own home, the evening sun is gilding the tassels of your com, is caught like a cobweb in the branches of the old Elm which shades the door, gives a new charm to the meadow behind the barn, is full of swallows flitting to and fro , and you say " handsome enough for a picture." Handsome, is, perhaps, your only word for such things ; you know it means something about appearances, or, as you term it, " looks ;" and you say 'tis all well enough to have things look well and be handsome, if it doesn't cost more, and doesn't take time that belongs to other things. You cannot be indifferent to beauty, for the nature, which your Maker implanted in you to enjoy the world, which he has made beautiful, because he loves the beautiful, will assert itself; And now assuming you to be in earnest to develope the nature he has given, you will look about to find how the beautiful may be culti- vated without interfering with the practical. As you feel -yourself greater, and life grander, because of this study and insight into the natural sciences, so will you become beau- tiful and refined ; so will your home be calmer and holier, your work nobler and more elevatmg, from constantly cherishing and studying nature's beauty. And in time you will feel artistic beauty, for all true art rests on natural beauty, and presupposes an acquaint- ance .with it ; is great only so far as it is true to nature. So we OKCHARD AND FAEM. 345 must know nature before we can enjoy art, and then, when our en- joyment is at the height, we shall feel that nature is as much above and beyond art, as it is the manifestation of a greater artist. I have talked to you as if you went along with me ; I have tried to show you how our natures may be opened and developed, and how our occupation more than any other, affords a wide field for pleasure and improvement. We have seen that the better the in- fluences about a man, the better can he do his duty. I have faintly indicated what that duty is. If, for one year, you wiU follow out this plan, you will be so strengthened, instructed, and delighted, that your motto ever afler will be, " Onward !" The farmer is like a fallow field, turned out to be benefited by the elements. Every thing about is favorable ; no envious walls be- tween him and the sun, the wind, and the rain, to shut out the ex- hilarating winds of winter, the delicious zephyrs of spring ; to blind him to the rich colors with which the world is painted ; to dull his eye to the variety, grace, symmetry, grandeur of the forms of crea- tion ; — and yet he obstinately refuses to look upon the earth as any thing but a workshop, where, with difBculty and much toU, he may earn a meagre support. Talk to him of knowledge, science, beauty he shakes his heavy head and says : " Get up at sunrise and go to bed at sunset, — no time for that." He will open his shell like an oyster, to eat and drink, but attempt to show him how much more there is in life, and he shuts it up tight again. Farmers are discontented, when they have every thing to make them contented. Remember that the purpose of your lives is to develop your mental and moral natures, whilst you get your living, and that this is your duty, as it is the duty of all men ; that for the secondary object of getting a living, your chance is as good or better, than the average ; while for the primary objects of life, your chances are far the best, if you will seize and improve the opportu- nities held out to you. God and Nature are your next neighbofs. Tou can grow food and clothes, and cultivate your mind, and fit yourself for the real life to come, without the help of those men and neighbors engaged in other pursuits, while they are dependent on each other and on you. If you choose, you can have the -^JSas- antest homes, the most beautiful farms, the best schools, the b^ht- 346 JANUAET. est children, the purest morals, the most satisfactory lives ; and, striking the average of the years, your drawbacks and discomforts are mere trifles not worthy of notice. Assuming that you purpose to be " improved " farmers, I will next show how such farmers get larger and better crops than their ignorant and prejudiced neighbors. VIEW IN THE GROUNDS OP J. WILEY EDMANDS, NEWTON CENTRB. CHAPTER XLH. GREENHOUSE. JlEBRUARY. I shall not weary you with a repetition of former directions, for now that winter has come with all its rigor, there needs nothing but care and watchfulness. During clear days, the sun will heat the house immoderately, unless ventilation is con- stantly maintained, and this, too, when the cold winds have kept the thermometer at zero out- of-doors for many days. Remember that you must keep your plants growing and healthy, and allow no check or chill, but must not, on account of excessive cold without, overheat within ; at rdght allow the thermometer to go to the lowest limit hitherto given for the different species of plants now in active growth, and on cloudy days raise the temperature but little over the night heat. Such treatment wiU make the plants stocky and vigorous, and in- sure a rich reward at flowering time. Remember that now all the bulbs are to be brought near the glass for direct light, and that sunlight is good for every plant. Pans of seed should be sowed, and cuttings made, and the pans set where they will get bottom heat. As the bulbs grow, and show indica- tions of flower stems, give more water. Some of them which you know blossom in their native lands, in swamps, or during the rainy season, should stand in saucers filled with water. Japan Idlies, Achemines, Gloxinias, Fuchsias, Cinerarias, Steph- anotus, Alamandia, Pansies, Dielytra, Roses, Verbenas should be re- potted ; Monthly Carnations, which have outgrown their pots need larger. Azaleas as they grow, may receive more water ; early Pelargoniums should receive a final shift, and be pruned well to make them stocky. 347 348 FEBRUAKT. I have, as may be seen by turning back, given the treatment proper for all the cuttings, seedlings, etc., which you need make for several months, and to these directions you should now refer. Be- sides this, read all books upon the treatment of different famiUes, to which you have access, and thoroughly acquaint yourself with their natural history and habits. By so doing you will not only be- come a more successful cultivator, but will acquire a large and en- tertaining stock of information. I spoke last month, of commencing hotbeds as a work to be under- taken about this time, and will now give directions for making them. Hotbeds. — They are of many kinds, and heated in various ways. Where not a large surface is to be covered with them, the easiest plan is to use rank manure, which, by its fermentation, gives out a large amount of heat. As this is the oldest and cheapest method, I have no doubt it wiU continue to be generally practised, to the ex- clusion of all other methods, but, as I shall show, it is not the best. Market gardeners, who depend upon the earliest crops to obtain the largest prices, will have begun their new hotbeds in January, and will have carried some through December ; but this would be a very foolish course for us. Had we been very desirous of early salads, we could have grown a few in some of our glass houses ; to go to all the trouble of hotbed culture for them, would not be good econ- omy. It needs the greatest care and judgment to carry hotbeds well through such'a month as February, when the thermometer is sometimes at zero for days together, and when the seedling plants from beds prepared in January, are just in the state to be quite de- stroyed by a moment's carelessness. I therefore, recommend you to prepare your hotbeds during the last of this month, and have them ready for planting early in March. We have two months of virtual winter after this, and but little outside culture can be under- taken before the first of May. Hotbeds are usually made of about the following proportions, the length of the range varying to suit the kind of plants you pro- pose to grow, or the amount of glass you use ; the bed should be 5 feet wide, and be divided into lights or frames 3 feet wide ; the sideM)f the frames are to be of 1^ or 2 inch plank, as high again GREENHOUSE. 349 above the surface beWnd as in front. Dig a trench 6 inches larger every way, than the inside of the frame, and 1 foot deep ; spike the planks firmly to 2 x 4 joists, which are to be cut as long as the entire depth of the frame, which depends on the plants to be forced in it; Cucumbers, Salads, Flower-seeds, needing only shallow frames, whilst Asparagus, Tomatoes, and similar tall plants, need something deeper. For the former class of plants, the frame should be 18 inches to 2 feet in the back, and 9 inches to 1 foot in front ; larger plants need 3 feet in the back, and 18 inches in front. But where it is necessary to use the same frame for all. kinds of plants, another expedient may be resorted to ; make a frame of the ordi- nary size, and another which wiU just fit on to the first, covering it exactly ; it may be held in place by bolts or bands. "When the plants have grown so as to fill the first frame, take oflf the sashes, and, placing the second over the first, put the sashes on the upper frame ; thus you will get all the additional depth desired. The front plank should be ^ inch lower than the outside of the frame, to allow the sashes to slide ; and the end planks should be rebated from 1 to 1 J inches, to leave a place for the same purpose ; mortise into the topand bottom sash, 3 feet from each end of a 9 feet frame, crossbars, 3. inches wide, and 3 inches thick, into which, on each side, a groove or rebate has been made, corresponding to the groove in the end plank, into which the sash is to slide ; over every joint, where planks, etc., come together, nail, or screw strips to ex- clude any air that might otherwise creep in. This done, prepare the sash, which is to be made like the sash of a greenhouse, — 3 lights wide for a sash 3 feet wide. The glass is not set as in a window, where each light starts from, and ends in, a properly pre- pared piece of wood ; the sash is divided into 3 equal parts, which are separated from each other by two transverse bars, grooved like an ordinary sash, to receive the glass ; the lower pane of glass is put in first, the next laps over it, like a shingle, ^ inch, the next over that. When the glass is firstrate, it is not necessary to lay any putty between the panes at these joints, but with ordinary glass, the joints wiU not be tight, and must be filled in with putty. Of course, glass thus laid, sheds rain like the roof of a house. The frame and sashes ready, begin to make the hotbed. My .30 350 FEBKUARY. directions were to dig a trench 6 inches larger in every direction than the frame, and 1 foot deep, which will carry the bed 1 foot into the ground. Some cultivators prefer to have the whole above the surface, because they think it then easier to regulate the heat. Ours, however, is sunlc 1 foot. Drive down at the four corners 3x4 joists, and spike to their outer sides 2 inch plank, as for the cold pit ; this framework is to be brought up nearly flush with the top of the ground, and to be just the size of the frame previously made. Set the frame on to the foundation, where it may be kept in place either by screwing down a few cross strips, or by its own weight." Now fill into the bed 2 feet deep of strong manure, unfermented ; — a mixture of litter soaked in the urine of cattle and horse droppings ; — lay this in, shaking it well and beating it with the fork, but not treading it ; fill the bed 3 to 6 inches higher than it is to stand, — it wiU settle that much in "the course of a week or two, — and pack it in higher behind than in front, so that the top of the finished bed will have the same slope as the sash. Lay over the manure 3 to 6 inches of the best light loam to be had, which should be taken from one of the heaps made for this purpose last year from lime, leaves, and sods. Such heaps should be covered up all winter to prevent their freezing solid ; a slight freezing is beneficial, as it kills the eggs and larvae of insects and the seeds of many weeds, but it is better not to let it freeze at all, than to have it solid and unmanageable. Your bed is now ready for the sashes. Wlien they are in place, surround the bed as high as the sashes with seaweed, leaves, or coarse litter; this is called a lining. Later, as the heat of the fermenting manure reduces in intensity, this lining must be re- placed with strong manure to keep up the proper temperature. In a few daj'^s the manure will begin to ferment, and will give out an immense amount of hot, ammoniacal gas and steam ; so hot often as to burn the vitality out of the loam above the manure, and totally destroy the tender roots of young plants. To avoid this it is well to sow the seeds in small pots, which are plunged into the earth up to their rims ; as the heat grows more intense, these may be withdrawn a little every day, just enough to save them from being burned ; as the heat moderates, allow them to GKEENHOUSE. 351 settle back into the earth. At the same time sow in the mould the seeds of such plants as you intend to cultivate. It is always quite easy to ascertain proximately the heat of the beds by thrusting down pointed sticks into the manure, and after a short time withdrawing them ; the degree of heat which their points indicate to the touch, will show how safe it is to sow seeds. It is a good plan to have two beds, the second rather larger and deeper than the first, and made later ; into the second may be transplanted, or, as it is technically termed, " pricked out," the seed- liug plants which have been started in the first bed. If there then is but one bed, the seeds which have germinated in the pans are to be pricked out into it. Should the heat threaten to be too great, thrust large, round stakes down to the very bottom of the bed, and then withdraw them ; the holes left will act like smoke-jacks, and will carry oflP into the upper air of the bed considerable of the heat, which may be discharged into the open air by raising the sashes. The heat will soon abate, and this, too, at a time when perhaps it is most wanted, when the outer air is intensely cold, while within the frame the young plants are just expanding their second leaves. Until several leaves are open you must keep the heat well up, and ventilate constantly, but moderately ; afterwards more air may be admitted, and pains be taken to harden the plants as much as possible. It is important in the hotbed as in the greenhouse to prevent the direct access of decidedly cold air to the tender foliage. To admit air within a frame to which the sashes are not confined by strips of wood, you raise the sash at the back ; but when this is done, cold air would rush in and cool the frame too rapidly ; so nail blocks of wood to the back of the frame A, at b, also screw or nail a ratchet pierced with holes, c, to one side of the frame ; nail to the top of the sash at the back an old mat, e, which may hang down A ^^^^ over the opening into the ^m frame, and being kept by the ^ block b, from clinging to it. 352 FEBRUAET. and thus shutting out air, will temper and retard the current as it enters, and thus give it time to mix with the warm air within, and lose its dangerous quaUties. The sash is kept up by thrusting through one of the holes in the ratchet an iron pin, which will pass under the sash and give it sufficient support. When more air is wanted than can be supplied by the opening allowed by the ratchet, slide the sash down the frame or remove it entirely. The strong manure which I have said should be substituted for the " lining " of leaves, as the manure ceases to ferment and fur- nish sufficient heat, is to be thatched on ■ its outside, or be covered with boards to keep the heat from escaping into the air or being reduced by rain and snow. When Cucumbers or Melons are to be forced in such beds, it is usual to start them on bits of sod laid into the loam, grass side down ; if they are afterwards to be grown in the open air, these sods are removed thither as soon as the plants are well grown and the external temperature permits; but if they are to be forced in beds they are removed as soon as they begin to run, to a fresh hotbed, where to prevent injury from heat, they are at first planted on mounds of earth (see cut) ; the earth is filled in level with the mounds as soon as the heat abates. On these mounds, the vines are set as in the figure, the top of the mound being within 4 or 6 inches of the glass. The vines do not increase much vertically, but they run, and as their growth is the bet- ter the nearer they are to the glass, they should be properly placed at starting. The second story which is added to the bed when the second frame, already described, is put on, gives room enough for Toma- toes and other tall plants. Asparagus may be forced in frames so as to be very early. The manure pit is to be made 3 feet deep, and at least 6 inches of earth laid over it ; into the earth set the roots, covering the crowns 2 inches. The plants should be from 1 to 3 years old, and should be set as follows : at one end make a_ small ridge of earth, 4 inches GKEENHOUSE. 353 high ; along it set the plants as close as possible without crowding top and roots ; cover the roots with a little earth, and set the next row, and thus continue till the bed is full ; then cover the crowns with 2 inches of rich loam. After the sashes are put on, examine the manure daily, as directed to ascertain its heat ; overheating at the beginning of forcing will kill the roots. For cooling the ma- nure, proceed as already described. Be very careful in cutting the shoots hot to injure the crown or the roots, either of the plant you cut, or of its neighbors. No culture is easier or more satisfac- tory than this. When Aspafagus is to be winter forced, the roots should be moved in the -fall, to dry sand in the cellar, where they may be kept dormant till you wish to use them. This, then, is the common and the cheapest way of heating beds, but as you see it is very uncertain, and not only needs constant care, but may at any time result in disappointment. From the temporary character of the frames, and the necessity of having the manure all below the bed, whence it can be removed only when the bed is abandoned for the season, it is obvious that when once it has ceased to give out heat, its uses are over, except as food for the roots of plants. Again, the " linings " are outside and above the surface, consequently, even when they are well covered, much of their heat must be wasted by escaping into the air. Finally, the heat when obtained, cannot be well controlled, but is now so much too great as to endanger the plants ; and presently so slight that tender plants are liable to damp off. No better heating material for temporary uses can be found, as for instance in making a bed in which to strike cuttings or germinate seeds, which need bottom heat in moderate weather, and which, when once they have fairly begun to grow, need no more extra heat, but are to be potted or transplanted to the open border. The temporary character of the bed and the exposure of the lin- ing may be obviated by pits made with vaulted brick bottoms, which can be more or less heated by linings external to the frames but under the -surface of the ground. A frame made after the man- ner of the Cold Conservative Pit answers well for this purpose, if we add a dungbed.in which to get immediate heat, and where seeds, 30* 354 FEBRUARY. etc., may be planted. The pit shown in the cut is one of the very best if manure is to be the means of generating heat. A is the interior of the pit, and the space between, jf, f, holds the loam for cultural purposes. The pit A is 5 feet in breadth ; allow 16 inches for side walls = 6 feet 4 inches, add to this 2 feet for the space h, which holds the manure := 8 feet 4 inches, and 9 inches brick walls. The whole space will be 9 feet 10 inches wide. Dig this whole space 3 feet deep ; build the walls c, 9 inches thick ; and the front wall 3 feet 6 inches high ; back wall 5 feet high. Mark off 2 feet inside each wall, and carry up on brick piers the walls d, 8 inches thick, on piers 2 feet apart. The full height of the back wall is 6 feet 6 inches ; of this 3 feet 6 inches, is open, and supported on brick piers ; the front wall is 5 feet high, of which 2 feet is solid. The space B is now enclosed oh each side by a row of iron or stone posts which support the bottom, e, of the pit. From e, and resting on these piers, carry up on each side 'i\ inch brick walls, y,/, to a convenient height ; at the top of these walls carry over tiles to cover the space between / and d; this will leave a hot-air chamber between d d, and the piers which support d ; cover the top of these piers with tiles, slabs, or planks, which will make the floor e ; on top of the walls d, lay the sashes as for a wooden frame ; cover the tops of the openings h, h, in each side of the pit between c and rf with a lid fastened into the walls d. This space h is to be filled with closely packed fresh manure, shown in the cut ; there will always b^ an air-space between d and/, and under the floor e, through B ; and through these air-spaces there will be a constant circulation of air, and the bed may be kept as warm as you please. Whenever the heat is too little, a part or the whole of the lining may be withdrawn, and its place supplied with fresh. Being under ground, covered with a substantial cover, and enclosed by brick walls, there can be little or no loss of heat. GKEENHOUSE. 355 The floor, e, of the pit may slant like the sash, or be level, though the top of the earth when filled in must slant like the sash. This pit, which is taken from the " Book of the Garden," and Loudon's Enclycopaedia of Gardening, is undoubtedly the best for manure heat, but is sometimes objected to as taking a very large amount of manure, and not giving so quick heat as the common bed ; but this is more than equalized by the facility with which linings may be removed and added, and by the complete protection of the plants from any danger of being burned. Should the loca- tion of the bed be at all wet, underdrain with tiles. It will add to the permanent efficiency of this frame to line the inside with rough mortar. Hotbeds Heated by Water or Steam. — It is strange that the best cultivators should continue using even these improved dung pits, which, at the best, are troublesome and expensive, and uncertain in their heat, when they have at hand heating apparatus vastly better for the purpose. The second step ir^ heating horticul- tural buildings was the use of hot air ; a furnace being placed in one end of a building, the chimney at the other ; the two were con- nected by a flue, which carried the fire and smoke, and of course grew hot, and gave out a great deal of heat. This was, for a long time, the only way of heating large glass-houses, and even now a slight improvement on it, known as the Polomaise, is much advo- cated and used. Such apparatus is better than to rely on heat from dung and sun, but it is not the best, and there are grave ob- jections to it ; the bursting of flues, dryness of air, and what is more important, the constant leakage of gas through the chinks into the house ; almost all gases from fire are injurious to plants, and those from the burning of coal are particularly hurt- ful. Seeing that apart from its disadvantages it was difficult to apply this cumbersome apparatus to hotbeds, cultivators naturally preferred for them the old manure plan, for which they moreover claimed the advantage of supplying ammoniacal gases. Unquestionably these gases are good for plants, but it is not 356 FEBRUARY. necessary to resort to unsightly manure-pits to get them. Pans of dissolved guano, of sulphate of ammonia, or of urine, set in hot- beds, or on the flues of greenhouses, will give all that is needed of such gas. And this can be done with the later invented and vastly superior apparatus for water and steam, where the pipes occupy but little room, rarely get out of order, and of course can discharge no noxious gases into the house. The wonder is that any other apparatus has been used, since they appeared, for although their first cost is greater, their greater durability makes up the difference, and they do the work much better. Pits heated by water or steam, or by both together, are so much simpler to manage, and so much more efficient than those just described, as to scarcely admit of comparison. The air from these pipes is never so dry and burned as that from hot-air furnaces, and by a further improvement (tanks or troughs) all dryness is removed and much warmed moisture thrown into the air of the house. I have several times, in the different months, given directions for setting pans of water — pure or otherwise — upon the lio1>air flues to evaporate, and both warm and moisten the air. This leads at once to the idea of making tanks of heated water do all the heating for a house by their evaporation. On a large scale they would give off a great deal of moisture, sometimes too much. We may regulate this by reducing the number of tanks, and supplying the place of those removed by hot pipes carrying air, steam, or water : thus a, a, a, are such pipes carried through gutters or troughs of water. These gutters may vary in breadth and depth as .we please, and thus we may have entire control both of the heat and the moisture. I now propose to give a plan of a hotbed, to be warmed with water, and unquestionably superior to any hot-air or dung-heated bed ever used. The range may be as long as you please. The bed is figured in Mcintosh's " Book of the Garden," p. 442, whence I also take the description. It combines in the best way top and GREENHOUSE. 357 bottom heat, with the humidity requisite for such structures. " Pig. A is a section of the pit supposed to be buUt entirely above the ground level ; the walls are hollow, and built of brick on edge, to economize material." As this pit is planned for England, where the weather is milder than here, it will be well for us to build thicker walls, by setting the bricks flat. " Fig. B is the ground- plan, a b marking the sec. tional line. The details are as foUows : Under each rafter is carried up hollow pillars c, c, e, c, projecting only four inches within the pit, and having no commu- nication with the general cavities in the side walls. In these a cavity is left at a the top and bottom ; along the centre of the pit a flue of brick in bed d is carried 2 feet wide, and 1^ in depth, with openings in its bottom, e, corresponding with those in the pillars along the front of the pit, and also with those in the back ; the openings in the latter being just below the levels of the tops of those in front. These openings are aU to be connected by flues or tile-drains ; the hot- water pipes are to be laid along the centre, as shown in the plan and section, but somewhat elevated above the floor on which they are placed, and covered over about 9 inches above their upper sur- face, with slate slabs, three-fourths of an inch thick. The commu- nicating openings between the flue in which the pipes are laid and 358 FEBRUARY. the hollow pillars of the back wall, should be 3 inches below the top of the said flue, to act as chambers to retain heated air. The boiler is to be placed at one end of the pit, unless the pit is so sit- uated as to be heated from a boiler adjoining ; the spdce f, be- tween the hot-water pipe flue and the back wall, are to be made solid with earth and rubbish, so as to form a good foundation for the connecting openings or flues to be laid on top of them." "In this climate, and to economize heat, it would be better, in- stead of filling this space with rubbish for a foundation, to carry through it, in solid brick-work, the chimney flue from the boiler ; the smoke, etc., would heat it thoroughly, and go far toward warm- ing the pit in an economical manner." " The space between this flue and the front wall should be filled with hard, dry, open materials. " In fitting this pit for the reception of plants, the space between the hot-water pipe flue, and the front wall of the pit, as well as "the whole surface over the flue, should be covered, as shown in the sec- tion, with stones, brickbats, or coarse gravel, to the depth of not less than 12 inches. " Over this, if for Melons and Cucumbers, is to be placed a layer of turf, with the green side undermost, and over it the necessary compost, h. If the pit is intended for Pines, or other plants in pots, then gravel or coal ashes may be substituted." "By this arrangement three things are attained, bottom heat, top heat, with an atmosphere constantly moist, and finally a constant circulation of air. Unless I am much mistaken, supposing the pit to be 6 feet wide and 3 feet high at back, and 1' 3" in front, above the mould, the whole atmosphere of such a pit would pass through the flue once in every two minutes, when the apparatus was in full work, thus producing a constant and vigorous circulation ; farther, if it be desirable to change a portion of the air continually, small apertures to the outward air may be made in the front descending- flues ; a small portion of fresh air will then pour in continually, mingling with the descending air, and ascending heated into the pit, supplying the place of that which will escape through unputtied laps and other crevices.'' i "The internal areas of the pilaster-flues should not be less than GREENHOUSE. 359 6 inches square, which they may be according to the proposed plan ; and the cross-flues and apertures into the pit must have the same area. If it be found that, with this area, or apertures, the heat produced by the pipes is brought up too rapidly, not having sufficient bottom heat, and overheating the top, these apertures may be diminished. If they be too small, an inequality will arise between the temperature of the back and front of the pit, caused by an ex- cessive difference between the ascending and descending air ; the total heat brought up will be the same ; for as the heat increases the velocity with which the air will ascend will increase also. But if an aperture of the size above recommended be employed, there will not be two degrees difference between the front and back of the pit. In order the better to disperse the ascending currents, it may be well that the aperture, instead of opening directly into the pit, should have a semi-cylindrical draining-tile, placed in front of it, to throw its draught right and left. But this is an unnecessary refinement ; a pair of 4 inch pipes will be found sufiicient for Cupumbers, Melons, or Pines, in a 6 feet pit." You remember that these two pipes are to be laid in a chamber just above the floor; the only drawback to the perfect action of this arrangement is, that the air is liable to lack the great moisture needed in a pit ; by enclosing a portion or the whole of the pipes in gutters or troughs, as previously shown, to be kept full of water, moisture wiU be supplied in abundance. These troughs may con- nect directly with the pipes, and thus ensure their being constantly foil. " Should the temperature afforded by 2 four-inch pipes be insuffi- cient, 4 may be used, but if a nozzle-pipe were attached to the boiler, and the entire flue in which the pipes are enclosed were made water-tight, and used for a tank, an ample supply of both heat and moisture would be afforded." There are some apparent but unreal objections made to this plan by Mcintosh, and afterwards refuted by himself, which I shall not quote, but shaU leave it with his further endorsement ; viz., that experience has proved this to be a very superior pit. * " Pits might to a very considerable extent be heated on the tank * " Book of Garden," p. 450. 360 FEBRUARY. system, at little expense, if arranged as shown in the cut. Figs. A and B are ground plans and sections of such a set of pits ; they show how a large range of pits may be heated by a single fire in a very economical manner. The ground plan is intended to rep- resent four. distinct pits, each 50 feet in length, and 6 feet wide in tlie clear ; the boiler is to be placed in the mid- dle (dotted lines), at b, or as better seen in sec- tion B, with the stoke hole under the level of the walk or passage be- tween them ; the floors are to be rendered per- fectly level and firm with a coating of concrete, and afterwards covered with cement over their whole breadth, as are also the side walls to the height of 6 or 7 inches. Down the middle of each tank under each pit, let a line of bricks, set on edge, be placed, leaving the ones nearest the extreme ends out ; this wiU give a flow and return current, the line of bricks forming the outer edge of each tank being kept 3 inches clear of the side walls, to prevent the loss of heat by ab- sorption or otherwise ; over the tanks thus formed, thick slate or thin pavement is to be laid, and closely joined with cement, ex- tending from back to front of pit. Apertures at every 5 or 6 feet may be cut in them, to which iron or earthenware tubes may be attached of 4 inches diameter, and furnished with stoppers, to be taken out for the admission of moist heated air into the atmosphere of the pit, and replaced when that is not required. Cut C, a, tank ; 6, pit ; c c c, tubes of iron leading from tank to top of earth in pit, and open air ; these tubes would not only moisten and warm the air GKEENHOU§E. 361 when opened, but would radiate heat into the earth around them at all times. " Similar provision should be made over the apertures a, be- tween the outer edges of the tank and the side walls, to allow the heated air in them free access to the pit, and as the air from such openings is not over moist, the apertures may be left uncovered. The back walls may be 3^ feet high above the ground line, that is, allowing 8 inches for depth of water and top covering, and 3 feet 10 inches from top of covering (of tank) to the glass. " The front wall above the ground line should be 2 feet 6 inches high. Circumstances will always direct this, as the height of pits must be suited to the purposes for which they are intended. The boiler wiU supply all or part (of the tanks), as may be required, and this can be regulated by stop cocks placed in the pipes which connect the boiler with the tanks, and these again can be subdivided by sluices, as in the adjoining cut. " By this means we should have 1200 feet of surface heated by one fire^ and for the purpose of growing young plants in pots, forcing French Beans, Strawberries, Aspara- gus, Salads, etc., such pits would be invaluable. The walls should be 9 inches thick for durability, and also to re- tain heat and exclude cold, and if they are built hollow so much the better, and the 31 362 PEBRUAKT sashes of the best Yellow Pine timber ; the glazing should be with 6x10 crown glass; to use larger glass in such structures would be unnecessary. The roof may be on the ridge and furrow prin- ciple without much difference in the cost ; the range should extend from east to west, so as to present the frontage nearly to the me- ridian. To heat the greatest possible space at the least possible expenditure of fuel and cost of erection, we think this the best of all methods." X is a house for Strawberries, heated ' by hot-water or steam pipes ; in the spring and latter part of the year for Tomatoes, Melons, etc., which are grown in pots ; the pots are set on shelves, which are sus- pended by wires to the rafters, and may upon occasion be unhooked and entirely removed. Y represents another pit, heated by both hot-water pipes, a, and tanks, d. There were many difficulties in growing Melons by hot water or air, from the diffi- culty of imparting that amount of moisture to the roots so grateful to Melons. You will see by the annexed plan that there are valves (shown by the dotted lines) just above the water pipes, and the mois- ture may escape and ascend to the outside air. The tanks are covered as usual with slate slabs, over these is laid rubble, and over that loam for the plants. Small pipes or tubes go through this loam — ^ to the rubble. When it is desirable to moisten the roots of the plants, water is poured into the pipes, and is thus diffused through the rubble and spread over the warm surface of the slates, where it is converted into vapor, and thence ascends into the earth of the pit ; as the fruit arrives at maturity, this moisture can be with- held, and the fruit thus attain perfection. GREENHOUSE 363 We have thus followed all the improvements in hotbeds ; and 1 think it must be clear to every reader that he, who has any large surface covered with hotbeds, can hardly afford to heat them by the rude and unmanageable dungbed, when it is so very easy to heat to any desired degree, in a clean and neat manner, ,by the use of steam and hot water. Roofs. — I have not given any explanation of the method by which steam and hot water are made to circulate, so as to diffuse heat throughout and over a large surface ; nor have I referred to the great difference between hot air, hot water, and steam. Before doing this I will say something about the glass roofs of hotbeds and similar structures. Thus far we have supposed ourselves to be using the ordinary flat sashes for hotbeds and for houses either flat or curvilinear sashes. There is another kiad of glass roof which on the large scale is in all respects superior to any other kind of sash, the ridge-and-furrow roof. This is, as you wiU see, built according to the best prin- ciples of construction is applicable to both large and small sur- faces. I should, however, prefer it only on the large scale, or for hotbeds, as I think the other roofs about as efficient in this coun- try and rather easier to manage ; but to cover a large surface, the ridge-and-furrow is best. The original principle of all steep roofs is that embodied in the child's card-house, — mutual support by leaning. But as the material used for roofs is very heavy, another problem, beside that of sustaining them at the ridge and holding them up at the eaves, must be calculated. The mere support at the eaves may be got by setting posts under, as in the cut, but these posts only hold up the per- pendicular weights over them, which is more or less, according to the pitch of the roof; the sharper the pitch, the more the weight is brought over the supporting posts ; the flatter, the less over the posts ; and in all cases the weight not carried down to the . perpendicular posts, tends to fall in the direction of the slant of the roof. This is called, technically, the thrust of the roof, and if not 364 FEBRUARY. prevented, this weight or thrust would press the tops of the sup- porting posts apart, till the ridge fell in (see cut). To hold the posts together against the thrust, beams were carried across from the top of one to the other, , and to these the roof was securely attached ; so that whatever weight was not carried directly to the perpendiculars might be so tightly hold to these cross beams or " plates," as to be indirectly carried to the perpendiculars. Of course this expedient is useless in very wide buildings, for there no cross or tie beams can be long enough to hold the posts together. In building with opaque walls, this diffi- culty is easily overcome by the introduction of inside walls, floors, rooms, etc., and in churches and other large structures, by various contrivances of timber and masonry. But these, though well enough where the roof is valuable only as a protection, are impossi- ble when light and heat are to be admitted through the roof. Thus a limit was set to the size of glass-houses ; their number might be increased indefinitely, but beyond a certain limit their size could be increased only in the vertical direction, and in that case the difficulty of heating set a new bound. By the device of ridge-and-furrow roofs this difficulty was removed, and the means of the proprietor are now the only limit'to superficial extension ; and with all your plants under one roof, you may get much more pleasure and profit from the same expenditure than when they are divided betwepn several houses. This roof is simply the combination of several common pitched roofs, which, but for the introduction of iron as a building material could not have been done successflilly and economically ; for were these many parts connected by timbers, the inside would be dark and obstructed. On the ends of an iron rod h, cut B, of the proper thickness, and about two-thirds the length of the distance between the posts a, a, screws are made ; other rods c e,e e,dd, of proper length and thick- ness have screws on their ends, which enter into clasps made for the purpose, where either two are screwed up at once, or each has its own nut, and is screwed separately ; 3 rods like c, I, c, which tie the posts together, are tightened by a screw of this character. See GREENHOUSE. 365 C. h, h, are the hollow ends of a clasp screw, or nut on a lar^e scale, the en^s h, h, are chambered, and have a female screw turned on their inside, into which the ends a, a, of the rods are entered. These ends have a screw made on them which wiU screw into the C ends h, h ; the space between «, a (the ends of the rods), is open ; into this space a hand spike is entered, and by turning this, the whole clasp turns, screwing on to the two rods at its opposite ends, and of course drawing the two rods toward each other. This is a very 31* 366 FEBEUAET. powerful apparatus, and enables the rods a, a, to be tightened at will. Into the aperture between h and b the other rods may be brought and tightened by nuts on their lower ends. This is the principle followed in putting up a ridge-and-furrow roof. The methods, the screws, clasps, etc., differ according to the building and the architect. Thus we may extend our roofs as much as we please, and yet bind them together tightly, cheaply, and even ornamentally. But at the same time, we seem to run into a new difficulty, arising from the great quantity of water shed from these many roofs, into their valleys, where there is no inclination to send it off; there it would accumulate till its weight endangered the whole house. This difficulty however, is met by making the col- umns, that support the roofs along the ends, and through the length of the building, of hollow iron, and thereby economizing material, without losing strength, and, at the same time, providing gutters by which the water runs off from the valleys. A drain under the bases of the columns, collects and carries off the water, either to waste, or to a cistern, from which the water for the boilers, and the other uses of the greenhouse is supplied. Houses with this roof, have the further advantages of requiring' a less proportional amount of heat, of securing more light and heat from the sun, and of resisting hail better than houses of the same area, with an ordinary roof. They can be thoroughly heated at a much less cost than a build- ing of smaller area, which is higher in the centre, for as you increase the height of a room, you increase the difficulty of maintaining a proper temperature at the bottom, without over-heating the top ; in other words, the waste of heat is in proportion to the height of roof, not to the area covered. They secure more light and heat by having the same advantage over an ordinary roof, where there is but one angle of inclination, which I some time ago showed is a recommendation of the curvi- linear roof; viz., that of presenting some surface at right angles to the sun's rays, in whatever position he is in the heavens, and thus admitting those rays, which, like the vertical rays of midsummer, bring most heat with them. And, securing as these roofs do, the GBBENH0U8E. 367 advantages of the curvilinear, they are more easily built, because the choice of material is not limited as in the curvilinear, to that which is pliable, and can be bent to the proper curve. They resist hail better, because they make its blow glancing in- stead of square, for they receive it at an acute instead of an obtuse or a right angle, in which position they would have much less power of resistance. Accumulations of snow are borne up by the strongest part of the roof. And if the principle be applied to an ordinary span-roof, as shown in the cut, or even to a lean-to house, the roof will rather facilitate, than obstruct the discharge of snow and rain, an important consideration in our climate. The cost of making span or lean-to houses in this way, will be greater, but they would gain in every other respect. When a ridge-and-furrow is to be used horizontally, the valley posts, and consequently the valleys, should be 20 feet apart ; but when applied to an ordinary house, this distance is to be determined by the angle which we wish the sashes to present. The width should be much greater than that of the ordinary sash ; about that made by leaning two ordinary sashes against each other at a good angle. I have described these houses minutely, because, although they are much admired and frequently built abroad, they are rarely seen here. Their greatest value seems to lie in the ease with which they 368 FEBRUARY. allow large surfaces to be covered, and the reduced cost as compared with any previous plan to eflfect the same thing. Any small garden might be wholly covered in in this way, and, by a little more expense and variety in the roofing, the effect would be made more picturesque, and the facility in removing snow in- creased. Such a garden would be a real winter-garden. Parterres of flowers, small trees, shrubs, and other plants, could be enclosed, and the most beautiful combinations effected. Of course, this is not a luxury for the poor, and cannot be accomplished at small ex- pense, but any one who has the means to spend upon it can pro- cure a more satisfactory result for the same amount of money, in this way, than in any other. In a southern latitude, the cost of maintaining such a garden, would be slight, as the sun's rays would supply even more than heat enough, except in decidedly cold weather, and during the sun's absence. The ridge-and-furrow roof applied to hotbeds is very advan- tageous, and costs but little more than any other roof, while it is very much better. In the case of a pit 78 feet long and 7 feet wide, an English gardener, who gives the views of Sir Joseph Paxton, advises as follows : " Cover the pit A with a ridge-and- furrow roof, making the space from the ground in front of the pit a, to the val- ley-rafter h, 3 feet 6 inches, and the back wall below the rafter c, to d, 5 feet 6 inches. Divide the whole length into 4 compartments, for growing different sorts of plants, by 4|- inch brick walls. Divide the whole length of the ridge-arid-furrow roofs into 12 bays, having ventila- tion in the angle of each pediment,/, g." Now to get at the plants, each light is hinged at the valley-rafter, and fastened with a thumb button at the ridge-rafter. By referring to cut B, it will be seen that the light or frame leaves the ridge-rafter in the direction of, and lies flat upon, the next light at c. Each light may be opened in this way so that the workmen may get at the pit. Each ridge is formed of two hghts, resting on the top sides, where they open from each other, and secured at the lower sides by hinges, so that GBBENHOUSE. 369 when it is necessary to give air, or to work in the interior of the pit, they can be tilted to any required height, or be thrown back like the leaves of a book against the ridges on either side. In wet weather these top lights can be kept quite closed, as an abundance of air can be admitted at both the back and the front of the pit, by means of triangular ventilators situated immediately under each ridge. The water which falls on the pit is carried off in gutters formed in the rafters upon which the lower sides of the roof rest. In Fig. B, a represents a light open, with the iron stay pierced with holes to regulate the opening, and to which the lights are secured by a bolt, which can be easily removed ; f, wooden ventilator, closed ; ff, the same, open. Fig. D is a plan of rafter under each pair of lights, with a concave centre to carry off water, and small gutters, a a, on each side the rafter, to carry off water of condensation. Fig. E is the plan of a hinge. In the pit figured above, all the work is carried on from without, and consequently the plants, etc., in the back of the pit are rather inac- cessible ; the plants to be forced are grown upon beds of fermenting material, whilst the pit is also used to keep plants through the winter, which stand upon a plank or slate flooring. 370 FEBRUARY. But increasing the size of the pit so as to introduce space for entrance, and heating with hot water in tanks and pipes would be a great improvement. The section of a pit so improved is represented in the cut. In this there is head room provided along the back of the pit, by sinking a narrow passage, a ; and there is also a tank, i h, for bottom heat, and two 3 inch water pipes, I c, between the tank and the front wall, for atmospheric heat, to be used together with the tank, or not, accord- ing to circumstances, that is, as dry or moist heat is required. Under the tank Sea-kale or Rhubarb may be forced, or Mush- rooms grown. It would hardly be necessary to have the sashes themselves movable, when the pediments may be lowered down, as through the latter, being at opposite ends of the pit, any amount of air may be introduced. " Of course a pit made in this manner would re- quire to be broader than that iirst described, and more expensive, and would be unnecessary for simple forcing." I have now presented all the best methods for the construction of hotbeds. The hotbeds upon our place are near the house-stable and the greenhouse. The range is double, and heated by a boiler placed in the middle, which warms tanks and pipes in the different beds. Two of these beds are for the conservation of plants through the winter, and are upon the plan described in October, in which fire- heat is resorte'd to. As I said in the commencement of this notice of hotbeds, we shall not begin culture till the first of March, as that will give ample time for the growth of all the plants that we wish to force. We shall begin a slow fire the last week in Feb- ruary, so as thoroughly to warm the pits and the earth before planting-seeds and cuttings. When the dwelling-house is heated GREENHOUSE. 371 by Steam, or has a kitchen-range with a hot-water back,, a small number of hotbeds placed near the house can be conveniently heated by pipes from the house. Hotbeds seem a formidable care to those who have never been accustomed to them, but they are in reality simple and easily managed, the chief requirement being watchftilness, to keep the temperature at the proper height.. CHAPTER XLin. CONSERVATORY. The pleasure derived from this house continues unabated, and the number of flowers is constantly increasing. After plants fairly begin to grow, the development of leaves and flowers is usually very rapid. Some of the orchids are now beginning to bloom, and their strangely fantastic forms lend a weird charm to the whole interior. Watch the plants carefully, to detect the earliest signs of thrips, aphides, red spiders, and other insects, and be after them at once ; it will not do to delay at all, for their power of reproduction is wonderfully great, and the sooner they are attacked the easier it will be to exterminate them. The intense cold of the outer air renders more fire heat necessary now than hitherto. Any snow that falls upon the roof should be removed as soon as possible, both to avoid the injury to the glass from its freezing and thawing, and to restore the light which it excludes. It will be easily removed on the flrst bright day. For the warmth of the house, and of the sun, will at the- same time compact it, and loosen its hold upon the glass, so that by starting it near the eaves the whole mass will slide off together. During the intensely cold days of this month the water of condensation will collect rapidly, and run down over the glass and astragals, and ♦ on to the floor and plants, in all badly ventilated houses. The only way to remove it is to sus- pend tin conductors under the sashes. But rafters and astragals may be made to pro- vide against this difiiculty. When the ventila- 372 CONSEKVATOET. . 373 tion is good there is comparatively little condensation, as the con- stant circulation prevents the moist air from remaining for any length of time in contact with the roof. A very simple rafter and astrar gal may be used in building the house, which will collect such moisture as may be formed, and carry it down to the gutter in front of the house. The cut shows sections of three rafters, either of which fully answers the purpose. The second one has small copper conductors nailed along its side. The house should be so well ventilated as not to need these articles, but it is always safer to have them in case of need. The rafter may be made as ornamental as the architect chooses. 32 CHAPTER XLIV. GRAPERY. We begin to force one house this month. First cover the whole border with a good dressing of 1 to 2 feet of strong stable manure. Fork it well together with the old litter already upon the bed, and then cover with mats or boards, to protect against snow, rain, and cold. The slight warmth which has been for the last two months kept up in the house to protect against frost, is now to be raised to 60° in the daytime, and 40° at night. Keep this temperature up for 10 days, and then slowly increase to 65° by day, and 45° by night. Water the vines well with the syringe, and keep pans of water over the pipes or flues, for evaporation. Some ammoniacal prepa- ration mixed with the water benefits the vines, by the exhalation of gas. Admit air freely in sunny weather, and at all times allow as much air to pass through the ventilators as is consistent with the proper degree of temperature. The sun may raise the heat in the day much above 65°, but it should never be higher from fire heat. Towards the last of the month, about the 25th, perhaps, raise the temperature 5° more, and allow the sun heat to become even more powerful than before. You may now expect to see the buds begin to swell, and very likely some of them will break, or commence to grow. As soon as they are well broken along the whole vine, tie the vines to the trellises. Syringing the air frequently, and keep- ing it very moist by evaporation, will conduce more than any thing else to the uniform and rapid swelling of the buds. During the. morfth it will be found advantageous to water the grape-borders with rather weak liquid manure ; which, as well as all the water supplied during this period, should be warmed at least as high as 65°. The easiest way to warm the water is to let it stand in shallow tanks in the grapery about 24 hours. 374 GRAPERY. 375 The temperature of the cold grapery to be kept as hitherto, and the vines are not to be excited in any way. The' vines in the retarding-house will by this time have ripened • their wood, and probably lost their leaves. As I have said before, the method of pruning these vines diflfers a little from that where the grapes are to be induced to grow early. The pruning in the retarding-house is to be delayed as long as possible, and though late pruning is likely to make the vines bleed, it does not materially in- jure them, but tends to delay the ripening of the fruit. It is best to begin the process of retarding in November, by disbudding. Pick off all the buds but the lowest, which you wish to have grow the next season, as soon as the wood has fairly begun to ripen, but not until all danger of a new breaking of buds is past, as if the bud which is left should break, it would probably cut off all prospects of crop. In February cut back to this bud. Pruning should be done about six weeks before ' the vines start, which will be the last of March or the first of April. After prun- ing, dress the vines with the soap and sulphur preparation ; untie them and lay them down as the other vines, and keep the house as cool as possible without freezing. One of the benefits of this treatment is that the wood thus seems to gain vigor and elastic- ity. Vines long subjected to a high temperature, dry and crack ; the wood becomes brittle ; but by giving them a share of cold weather each year, this danger is partially avoided. Should there be any days sufficiently warm, air the conservative pits, and the frames which contain the salads, etc. Remove into the forcing-house and cold grapery boxes and pots of Strawberries, Salads, etc., for early forcing ; also from the cold pits some Cauli- flower, Broccoli, and Endive, and boxes or casks of Cardoons, Sea- kale, etc., as will be more particularly described hereafter. CHAPTER XLV. THE TAEM. I HAVE treated the subject of fanning, thus far, wholly from one point of view, and have implied, it may be thought, too strongly, that self-improvement, for both profit and pleasure, is not only the best but the easiest thing to do, and requires only resolution for its success. But I am by no means ignorant of the many great diffi- culties in the way of the farmer, who seeks to develop himself into the perfect man. One great drawback is the pecuniary one. The want of money not only makes more work necessary, but it irritates the workman and leads him to attach too great importance to it, and so forget the greater in the less. He must work himself, because he cannot afford to pay others, and labor early and late to accomplish his work in season. The day's fatigue unfits him for evening reading or study ; even the most ambitious student must yield to this diffi- culty. But these days of extra work are not constant, and time will come in the course of the year which it depends only on our- selves to improve. Besides, however hard the day's work, it is not often that the farmer is too tired too talk, or to hear others talk ; and often when eyes unaccustomed to reading would swim and close over the printed page, he could talk for hours with a neighbor about the approaching election, or the new candidate for the vacant pulpit. Seldom is a day's work hard enough to unfit him for going to the caucus, which is to nominate a friend or a favorite politician ; he can go to a circus or a prayer-meeting, although his day's work has been large enough to excite the admi- ration of all beholders. This leads us to the secret of improvement in agricultural pur- suits, — association. Combine with a few neighbors who are also interested in the ad- 376 THE FARM. 377 vancement of agriculture, and form a club, which shall meet weekly, for the interchange of information, or for special remarks from some member appointed by the rest, to find out something in- teresting and instructive. Go to the club-meeting willing to be taught even by a neighbor, whose general information you think not superior to your own, but who on this occasion has taken pains to acquire new facts on a given subject. Listen to his commu- nication ; take part in the discussion which will arise ; tell what you know on the subject ; ask explanations of all doubtfiil points ; express your doubts and difficulties freely ; you may thus get help from those who are better instructed, and gain the gratitude of those who share your ignorance, but lack the courage to say so, and who will thank you for speaking for them, and opening the way for them to speak for themselves. The replies you get may be satis- factory or not ; if not, and the crooked path is not yet straight, you will have something to think over in the interval before the next meeting. Your mind will be excited by the inquiry, and you will find yourself in the evenings more inclined to look up the subject in books, and get what light you can upon it, than to go to sleep over the lire. Perhaps you can find nothing in your books, and have no newspaper whose light is more than the glimmer of a farthing candle. Some of your neighbors have other books or bet- ter papers, and will gladly lend to you. Have no scruples about asking them. "We are all complimented by having our opinion asked. Press on in this way, now talking, now reading, now in- quiring, now imparting, and you will soon have an increased knowledge and zeal that will necessarily lead you to farther acqui- sition. Such associated eflfbrts in the way of clubs and social gatherings are of great value to farmers. They bring together a great variety of information in the form most easily appreciated. A distinguished man once said that good talli is the healthiest and most nourishing food for the mind ; that each man's mind is both a sieve and a mill, which selects, assorts, and grinds all the facts and theories pre- sented to it, turning out an elaborated result, flour or bran for the use of others, just according to the character of the individual mind. And this result of the process of sifting and grinding, when forced 32* 378 FEBKUAET. into the iuinds of others through the channel of conversation, is particularly well adapted for their nourishment and expansion. In your farmer's club, where no member has had much intel- lectual training, the winnowing process may be less thorough than the case would justify, but it will certainly be more complete than any member could make it alone. The idiosyncracies of diiferent members will lead them to select different books, to fasten on dif- ferent facts, or see the same facts in different lights, and so to make good each other's deficiencies. But remember that you do not meet to register isolated individual experiences, — of how many quarts A's cows gave, how many bush- els of Corn B got to the acre, or how large a crop of Apples C ex- pects. Unless these things have some relation to each other, some bearing on the topic for the evening, they are mere gossip, and will not expand your mind, though they may keep you awake. Remember that you and your associated fellows are building an ed- ifice, — the perfect farmer, who is to be a conglomerate of facts, ex- periences, and theories, and will be perfect in proportion as these are of the best quality, and harmoniously combined. If you were building a dwelling house, you would select among the materials offered, would reject many stones and bricks, would cut off the ends of boards that were shaky or pierced with knot-holes, would throw away many imperfect nails ; but if the plan with which you started was good, you would at last have a satisfactory house. So in build- ing up your intellectual structure, — the perfect farmer, — you must expect a great amount of rubbish to come under inspection, to be tried and found wanting ; but build on according to the best plan you can make, and with the best materials you can get. Want of practice here will of course make it more difficult to start with a perfect plan than in house building ; you can only block out the leading features of the character you wish to form, and may even then be unable to get the best materials, or to adapt them to your peculiar circumstances. But, as in house building you use mate- rials brought from many places, so your farmer's character cannot be completed without many imported materials. The experiences of his native village will never suffice ; they must be thrown aside unless they are fit for your purpose. THE FAKM. 379 Lay it down then, as a rule of the club, that no menlber shall relate his personal experience, fexcept to throw light on the question under discussion, or to ask for information. Appoint some member or members, who are best fitted, to find out what man or nation, is acknowledged to succeed best in fai-ming, and use the treatise which describes their practice (or his, if you can narrow it down to an in- dividual), and the reasons for it as a standard text-book, to which all questions are to be referred for decision. There is a strong prejudice against book-farming, among farm- ers, because they think the statements of books are mere theory. Nothing is more common in farming communities, than to sneer at some man as a book-farmer. Men who get together and relate the traditions of their ancestors, in the peculiar dialect of their' na- tive district, and conduct their farms in accordance with those tra- ditions, often refuse to listen to the same doctrines embodied in a book, and expressed in good English ; or, if, having condescended to listen, they hear something plainly in accordance with their own preconceived ideas, they are confirmed in their self-conceit, and ap- prove the book so far as it agrees with them, or condemn it for dis- agreeing with the same authority which they set up as final, never admitting that there can be a wider experience, or a closer observa- tion than that of themselves and their fathers. Whoever knows common farmers, knows that this is true ; and yet, there was never a more narrow and inconsistent prejudice. The traditions which < they hold and follow, are the maxims of some man, who in his day, got the largest crops, and raised the best stock of his neighborhood and was therefore, with reason, consulted and imitated by his neighb6rs ; in other words, became an authority on farming in his district. What are books, but the history of the practice of some man or people ? and if the practice set forth in them is universally successful, producing the most satisfactoiy results, are they not worthy of the most respectful attention ? Should they not be re- ceived as authorities, instead of being sneered at, because they are printed instead of spoken ? There is another reason why book farming is lightly esteemed, by farmers. They have toiled painfully for years to get the expe- 380 FEBRUARY. rience which is necessary before the traditions aforesaid can be put into profitable practice, before they can even be fully understood. Somebody inexperienced in farming has read a book, a good book perhaps, which pleasantly portrays the pleasures of agriculture, comments on the rudeness of the ordinary practice, and describes methods of culture by which time and labor may be saved and money gained ; and forthwith he knows not only enough to carry on a farm, but — to judge by his talk — more than" men who have farmed from childhood. Practical farmers watch his course, and see him wrecked on the shoals which lie in the path of all begin- ners, on difficulties which perplexed them long ago, and were long ago overcome ; then they grimly smile, and say, " So much for book farming ! might have known it." The failure is put down altogether to the account of the book, whereas the book had noth- ing to do with it ; want of elementary, experimental knowledge, was the cause. In the hands of a practical farmer, who had this knowledge gnd was used to hard work, the same book would have been of immense value, as the mariner's compass, which would be of but little service to a landsman turned adrift in a boat, ignorant of its management, is to the experienced sailor comfort, and per- haps life. A book is, as I have said, the history of some one's practice or theory, and the farmer's club having found out, through a com- mittee, what nations have been most successful in farming, should procure those books on the subject which are considered the best authority by those nations. Do not swallow any one of these books whole, but either read aloud at the meeting of the club, or appoint some member to read it at home and report at the next meeting such new ideas as he may have obtained from it. Discuss this in- formation, see how it agrees with your own experience, and where it differs ; find out, if possible, the cause of the disagreement ; ascer- tain whether it arises from difference of climate, soil, etc., and hav- ing sifted thoroughly the whole matter, throw aside the chaff and garner the wheat for use. The continuance of this process with one book after another, will bring you into contact with a new class of minds, men, and prac- THE FABM. 381. tice ; will teach you new things ahout your special vocation, and will increase your geographical, historical, and scientific knowledge ; in short you will have begun to grow. This way of passing an evening each week when you are too tired to read, will soon awaken your minds to such an interest in books and study, that you will be too tired no longer. Nor is this the only good to be derived from such clubs and as- sociations ; people from different parts of the town, brought to- gether to exchange experiences, will feel a mutual interest, and will be desirous for the progress of the whole ; sectional and dis- trict jealousies will be forgotten, and the spirit of improvement in agriculture will gradually extend to other things, till the whole community will be raised above its neighbors in knowledge, refine- ment, and wealth. No proverb is truer than that Scriptural one, " A little leaven leavens the whole lump." If a few men combine earnestly for improvement, there will surely cluster around them all the good and growing men in the town. They wiU start and support many great movements in town, and state, and national government, for mental, moral, and social progress, and the result wUl be that each ViU find himself at the end of the year better and wiser than at its beginning, and wiU begin to see beauty in objects before uninteresting, and to take pleasure in things for a value in them not to be measured by money. Assuming, then, that you have determined to do all in your power to develop a perfect system of farming, and that you have inaugurated your farmer's club, and brought it to a flourishing condition, I will call your attention to a few improvements in the practice of agriculture, which not only are. better for mind and body than the old methods, but will give fuller barns and store- houses, and larger moneyed returns. America will eventually become the best farmed country in the world. At present England holds, on the whole, the highest rank. Belgium and Holland surpass it in some respects ; larger crops are raised from a given area, and more expensive improvements are undertaken and carried through to a successful result ; but the soil and surface of the Low Countries are, as their name imports, un- 382 FEBRUARY. favorable to a varied culture, and many things are never attempted there which fill England with wealth and beauty. The English farmers are mostly tenants who occupy the cultivated portions, and cannot afford, on land not their own, to make the out- lay necessary for great improvements, which, though profitable in the end, are so only after a term of years. Still, what with the lib- erality of the proprietors, the enterprise of the tenants, and the aid extended by government, the state of agricultural science and practice in England is very far beyond that in this country, and it will be long before we shall overtake, and longer before we shall surpass it. In New England, farms must be comparatively small, and the soil is of such a character as to compel us to adopt the most thorough system of culture, if we wish to secure that home market which gives us the advantage over Western farmers, whose crops must be transported to a great distance to find a market, until the cost of freight makes them as high priced as ours in the end. This home market is sure to continue, for the population of New Eng- land will be more and more engaged in manufactures, and trade must become denser and denser, and increase the demand for the fruits of the earth. New England farming must be " high farming " in order to be successful, and only as it approaches to the perfection of the Eng- lish and Flemish systems, will it secure the best return for outlay of labor and money. In November, I said that during the winter the farmer should lay his plans and arrange his work for the next year. But the work of no one year is complete in itself; it springs from the years be- fore, and influences the years that come after ; so that in making these plans you must have an eye to the long future. There are several distinct kinds of farming: stock farming, cereal, grass, and root . farming, milk growing, fruit culture, mar- ket gardening. Which of these an individual will follow will de- pend on such circumstances as the district he lives in, his means, his tastes, natural or acquired. It is not probable that he will follow either kind exclusively. This is rarely done in any country, cer- THE FARM. 383 tainly not in ours where labor is less subdivided, and pursuits less hereditary than in any other. Stock farming (if it is of neat stock) necessitates the production of milk, cheese, and butter, of some cereals to feed the men and animals, of roots for winter consumption. Market gardening is generally pursued alone, and is more like horticulture than the ordinary work of a farm ; to follow it successfully, a knowledge of vegetable physiology, of varieties, of forcing, etc., is necessary, things not essential in ordinary farming. It is more often connected with milk farming (where the milk is sold in the fluid form) than with the other kinds ; for milk farmers have plenty of manure, and are within a short distance of their market (20 or 30 miles is soon travelled by railroad). This readiness of access to market is essen- tial to the success of both kinds of farming, for both milk and mar- ket vegetables are bulky, and the expense of freight eats up the profits when they are transported far. Stock farming will generally be followed at a distance from cities, in districts' where land is cheap, and a large surface can be devoted to pasturage. So it has been ever since want of pasture has gov- erned the movements of the great migratory, pastoral races ; and thus has arisen the popular idea that stock farming can only be carried on where there are extensive pastures. The stock farming of which I propose to treat deals with small herds and moderate sized pastures ; it feeds the stock on green food during mild weather, but as winter comes on it provides them with shelter, and with food, garnered beforehand. The pastures will be comparatively large ; will be at a distance from large towns, but this does not much increase the market price of the animals, for stock has this great advantage over all other farm products : when it is marketable it can be made to take itself to market. The far- mer, much of whose land is hilly, rocky, or otherwise unfit for til- lage, will incline to this kind of farming, which he may follow in one of two ways ; either by buying the food necessary to support his stock through the winter, perhaps by growing barely forage enough to keep them through, or by raising on that portipn of his land which is fit for tillage, fodder 6rops in abundance, for both Bummer and winter use, and for sale, so as to give a source of rev- 384 FEBEtJAEY. enue in addition to his regular stock sales. Evidently this is the best kind of stock farming ; it is complete and independent, and only among such farmers can we expect to find perfect breeds of animals. The cost of fencing extensive pastures is so great as to induce some men to neglect their fences and suffer their cattle to roam over their neighbors' land as well as their own ; but the model farmer never follows a course so slovenly and productive of ill feel- ing in a neighborhood ; in his mind, good stock farming implies the employment of no more land than can be well and securely fenced, and of no more stock than can be well supported on the pasture land with the assistance of fodder crops suflBciently abundant to leave a surplus for sale, and a guarantee against suffering from drought or flood. On this basis stock farming may be followed among our hills and mountains, where every farm can have some interval and some upland, the one for tillage, the other for pasture. Climate, the market, the proprietor's tastes, will decide what kind of stock shall be grown. Undoubtedly the time will come when the sides of every hiU and mountain in New England will whiten with the har- vest as much as the valleys and meadows, — not with Wheat, Com, or Eye, but with wool, — and the flocks of sheep will be as count- less as the herds of the prairies. Lower on the same hills will be cows and oxen, and on the edge of the plains and valleys, horses. Our stock farmers may with advantage take lessons in this mat- ter from foreign lands. Sheep growers in Scotland, Switzerland, and other mountainous countries, use their mountains strictly in accordance with climacteric laws. These heights are not abso- lutely sterile, though the climate is too cold to allow timber to grow ; the higher you ascend, the lower is the temperature, the later the spring vegetation, the earlier the winter frost. The herdsman of the valley drives his flock in the early spring to the base of the mountains, where the green herbage is eagerly cropped by the winter-weary sheep and lambs ; as the weather grows warmer, the grass grows green higher up, and by the time the first pasture is fed off the next above is ready, and so on to the top of the lower mountains. Again, as the frosts of early autumn seize THE FAKM. 385 on the summits, the flocks descend with the grass, till winter finds them again at the base, ready to snuggle into the warm fold. I do not mean that there are definite, precise steps in this process ; when we deal with large natural surfaces, we find no exact limits ; all is on too large a scale ; but the general statement is true. There is no reason why our hill-sides should not roll down a cov- ering of wool after the summer's pasturing quite as white as the winter blanket of snow, and of a value which will equal or sur- pass that of all . the present agricultural productions of the North- ern States. The same kind of pasture is good for other cattle, and hardy oxen and tempting beeves may do as well as sheep, though they must be less in number. These larger animals need more abundant food, and are better adapted to the more succulent and coarse herbage of the lower lands. Horses will never thrive on rough hills ; the loss by accident would be large. The early months of the colt must be passed in pastures that will never twist or wrench his tender bones, but will allow him to grow symmetri- cally, and after his frame has become firm, he must still be pas- tured where his adventurous and frolicsome disposition will not subject him to the risk of rolling down steep hill-sides, or of injur- ing his wind by racing up the steeps with his companions. Yet good horses can only be raised where there is pasture room enough to give them constant exercise, and if a pasture is tolerably level and free from holes and stumps, its poverty does not unfit it for colts (unless it be overstocked), as the necessity of taking a good deal of exercise in getting their daily food, tends to make them hardy and enduring. Under favorable circumstances, stock farming is the pleasantest kind ; there is less hand and more head work, and the variety of culture, of treatment of animals, gives constant variety and change of occupation, and calls out all the faculties. Besides, there are two strings to this bow, the crops and the stock, both of which can hardly be broken at the same time ; hence the loss can scarcely be so great as when all is staked on a single crop. I think such farming may be made the most delightful occupa- tion in the world. It need never be monotonous ; the culture of crops and the 33 386 PEBEUABT. rearing of stock in summer, their protection in winter, the health and joy to be gained from the fields and fresh air in warm weather, the long winter evenings for reading, the ready hospitality to be extended to friends and strangers attracted to our door by its home- like look, thoughts and practices for the welfare and advancement of others, — all is full of variety and pleasure, and such a life, properly lived, may be a lighthouse for the guidance of others along, the road of life. Stock farming is comparatively simple in its description, and it seems as if only a little money and an enthusiasm for the work might enable any one to follow it with ease and profit ; but it is really the most difficult kind of farming if done in the best way. First, the farm is to be selected. The land should be near a vil- lage or town, for the convenience of the family. There should be some level or interval land for profitable culture, easily drained, easily irrigated, of good texture, and sheltered from the coldest winds. The hill land should be near the house, easy of access, as little rocky as possible, well-wooded in parts, and facing the south and east, so as to receive the early and late sun. Next the house is to be erected ; not a shingle palace, not a cube or parallelopiped of boards, not a Gothic cottage, not a show-box of any kind ; but a comfortable, roomy house, of two stories, with a spacious kitchen, a good cellar, and convenient dairy. The living rooms all on the pleasant side of the house ; no best parlor too good to live in and only for show. The outside of the house to have at least 20 per cent of the whole cost expended upon it, so that when it has been inhabited a few years it shall be beautiful to the eye of every beholder. Let it express in every window casing ; in the verge boards ; in the hospitable entrance ; in the cozy chim- ney stack ; in the vines already growing, and ready to wreathe their graceful tracery over every point and projection ; in the broken gables ; in the blooming flower-beds ; in the protecting branches of the old trees near which it is set ; in the shrubs and young trees well disposed around it ; in its general effect on the landscape where it sits nestling among hills and mountains, or crowning a gentle eminence, or giving entrance to some wild lawny meadows, — the ClIAKLES RIVEK. AT AUBUKNDALE, NEWTON, MASS. * THE FAEM. 387 Home Spirit, — that indefinable, intangible atmosphere which can never be seized and appropriated, can never be added to an ugly and tasteless place, has no money value, cannot be won without wooing, but which breathes from every tree and shrub, catches up and intensifies the colors and fragrance of the flowers, gives com- fort and joy to the simple farm buildings, hallOws the whole place, and makes every member of the family radiant with a something which all can recognize, love, and desire, though they cannot de- fine. This home spirit is not the result of calculation and carpentry ; it cannot be built into the house, and yet it is never more plainly shown to the stranger than in the very work of man's hands, Vf carpenter, mason, painter, and gardener. The architect does not design it ; he cannot. It is individual, and belongs to those who build the house and ornament it. It influences them in the choice of a design, it instinctively teaches them how to selfect aright the plan of the house, the location, the externals' ; it is the natural re- sult of a life spent in the love of nature, of beauty, of religion ; it comes only to those who humbly seek to be all that the best men should be, and when it comes, they are as unconscious of it as the Heliotrope of its fragrance ; but it issues out and enfolds a house and its inmates, so that the rudest hind feels it, and every one seeks to reproduce it. The children who grow up in the house redolent with it always love their birthplace, and return to it long years after, when perhaps the hand of time has picked out the mortar from the chimneys, has broken the trellis from the vines under which they used to sit and play, has planted weeds in the flower-beds, and neglected to prune the long ago too luxuriant hedge. But amid all the change those who love it see their early home, and can easily reproduce it. It is rare that the child of such a home is any thing but an honor to it ; its light burns to him forever ; he carries the sacred fire in him, and his share of the home spirit will live in him to be breathed out in a new home at some future time. i The stock farmer, as I have said, is well able to found a home like this. Next he must select a good position for his bam. It should be at a convenient distance from the house, near, but not too near, and 383 FEBRUAET. * towards the centre of the farm, sheltered under some grove or hill- side, easy of access for teams coming in with the crops or carrying out manure, and in such place that water can be brought to it. This farmer, then, must be a good farm architect. Now the land must be studied with a view to its division into fields, and to the best crops to be raised ; the rotation of crops must be decided upon, and their probable rate of increase. The pasture lands must be examined, to find out what stock they are adapted for, and how much they will feed. Having decided on the kind of stock, the farmer must next learn the best breed for his various purposes. In England this question is decided by the traditions of each county. The business of stock raising has been so long established there, and the various breeds so carefully tested as to their capacity and adaptation to different localities, that as soon as a man has settled upon his plan in farm- ing, he knows at once what stock is best for him, and without dan- ger of loss in unsuccessful experiments, he buys the proper cattle and goes to work. Not so here. The Enghsh and European breeds do not present precisely the same qualities here as in their native countries. The intensity of our heat and cold, and the dryness of our atmosphere, affect both the constitution of the animals, and the quality of the pasturage to which they are confined. Experiments have been tried in various parts of the country by a few earnest individuals, in propagating certain kinds of foreign stock, with the hope of decid- ing which is best for their locality. In some cases these experiments have been very fairly tried, and have elicited valuable information ; but too often there has been a flaw in the experiment, owing to the prejudice of the experimenter, which has made it unreliable. On the other hand, some men have imbibed a prejudice against all foreign stock, because it is foreign, and brought hither only by the rich, and they pertinaciously deny that it has any practical, value. They content themselves with picking up the best native animals they can find, and often have stocks of cattle in their bams better than any blood stock that can be bought. But this is the re- sult of something very like accident ; viz., a rare individual power by which they detect the excellences or defects of a creature at a THE FAEM. 389 glance. A man with this power needs no single standard stock, for he can choose from an immense range ; but the mass, who lack the judgment necessary to successful selection, are subject to frequent losses. One thing has been settled by the experience of many genera- tions of stock-breeders : that like produces Uke, under ordinary cir- cumstances. Could you have a cow and a bull, both of whose parents, 4 cattle, were noted either for their milk-p^-oducing quali- ties, their tendency to butter, to fat, or as workers, you might feel absolutely certain that their offspring would have the same qualities. So universally does this hold true, that it is in the power of any individual to produce such a breed of cattle as he prefers, if he will persevere with care and judgment. Consequently, if there were no desirable breeds, it would be possible for our stock-farmer to produce a breed exactly fitted to the hills and valleys of New England. The requisites for this breed are a fair amount of rich milk in the cows, a tendency to fatten, — both in the cows when not in milk, and in the oxen when at work, — a moderate size, which can be readily supported and fattened on our somewhat meagre pastures, in summer, and sustained at small cost in our barns during winter, and a frame and muscular development which fit the males for work. If sheep are the stock, a large fleece, with small bones, and delicate meat, and a hardihood of constitution, which enables them to defy both heat and cold, and to protect themselves and thrive with but little attention from man. In establishing this new breed, it is important to cut off as many of the prelir^ary steps as possible. This may be done in part by beginning^ith those breeds of cattle, which, in a country simi- lar to our own, possess most of the qualities just enumerated. The breeds most in repute in England are Durham, Hereford, Ayrshire, Devon, Alderney. Of these there are various grades and crosses, and many varieties, assimilating in some respects to either. About 60 years were spent in bringing one of these breeds to its present state ; and since the type was fixed it has been easy, as I said, to keep it so. If we can cut off 30 or 40 years of the ex- perimenting, and at the end of the remaining time have a stock 390 FEBRUARY. just suited to us, it will be a fortune to the successful breeder, and an incalculable benefit to the community. The popular breeds may be first divided into sizes, as large or small. The Durhams and Herefords are large, the Devons, Ayr- shire, and Alderney, or Island Cattle, small. The large animal has a large stomach to fill, and an appetite in proportion, larger bones, greater amount of offal and waste ; but when grown, gives more weight of beef, and a larger quantity of milk. To produce these large breeds in perfection, the summer pasture and the winter fodder must be rich and abundant. Does this pay ? is the question. All these peculiarities of size are against the hilly country, and in favor of the prairie. These cattle are good as food and to work, and often can be fatted to astonishing weights, whilst cows of the same breeds are mentioned which have given from 20 to 30 quarts of milk, for 4 or 5 months after calv- ing, and afterwards fall off" to a reasonable yield, until they have finally dried up. But to produce such weights and such quantities of milk, a large and constant amount of food of extra quality was necessary, and the animals were grown under the equable and moist climate of England. Such great weight it is desirable to attain, as it is better to feed one animal, and to have only one to care for, than two, but it can ■ never be attained on such a farm as we have been considering, ex- cept by stall feeding, and that kind of stock raising is to be pur- sued under different circumstances, and will be described hereafter. The milk given in such abundance is not rich ; it takes from 10 to 15 quarts of milk to make a pound of butter, and, although good for those who sell milk, is not well adapted to our stock farmer. The Island or Alderney cattle are as much belc^ the medium size as those that I have described are above it. These animals are not valued for their working or beef qualities, being inferior to many other varieties in these respects, but, as they are small, the cost of keeping them would be so also, were it not that the delicacy of their constitution requires an extra quality of food ; as milkers, too, they are deficient ; the quantity of milk is small, and the quality, after skimming, watery and poor. Their excellence is in the qual- ity of their butter. Four quarts of milk often make a pound of but- THE FARM. 391 ter, and butter that is most attractive, too, from its golden yellowness. But butter is only one among many things required by the stoek farmer. So the Alderneys must be rejected. Indeed, as a breed they are not valuable to any one. The rich cream, the small size, and the peculiar beauty of the young cattle, are urged as its claims on the man of wealth, or the man who can keep but one cow. But the chief requisite in a cow is good milk ; our children; our pigs, and ourselves, to a great extent, depend upon it; butter can far more easily be dispensed with, and is, besides, not a bit better for its beautiful yellow color. Moreover, the beauty of the young Alderney is more than counterbalanced by the ugliness of the old one, which is the ugliest in appearance of all neat cattle. The Ayrshire is often called the poor man's cow. It is small, hardy, and handsome, is easily supported, makes good, quick work- ing cattle, and fattens prettjjiwell. This seems nearer the mark, and, at first sight, appears all that is wanted for the foundation of our breed. But the Ayrshire is found to have a tendency to fatte" in rich pastures, which often gets the better of its milking qualities, to the great disappointment of the owner. Besides, the milk is poor in quality, ranking only above the Durham in this respects , I am aware that statements are made of the amount of butter made from the milk of Durhams and Ayrshires, which^go to prove it as valuable as the Alderney, the quantity being greater. But these statements must have been made by persons whose herds fed in pasture where the clover was up to the top of their horns, and when the same animals, or others of a similar breed, were trans- ferred to poorer pastures, or less abundant feed, they have shrunk, both in the quality and quantity of their milk ; and, however much butter may have been made in any case, it cannot be denied that the skim milk is a poor and washy article. The last breed I come to is the Devon. These, too, are small cattle. The males are noted for their docility and enormous work- ing powers, as well as. for a decided aptitude to fatten, and for the superior quality of their beef, it being better than any other. They do not' ripen, or become fat and fit to kill at so early an age as the Durhams, being seldom fit for beef before they are 5 years old ; but they can be worked till 4 or 5 years old, and then put up 392 FEBRUARY to fatten. " They need work to develop them, and if kept idle will be invariably stinted in their growth, whilst the Durhams, or short horns, are impaired for beef if worked. They do not, indeed, attain the great weight of some breeds, but in a given time they acquire more flesh, and with a less consumption of food, and their flesh is beautiful in its kind." The milk of the Devon is very rich, instances being given where 4 quarts have made a pound of butter, and 6 quarts being sufficient to do this at any time. It is very rich, too, after being skimmed ; no length of standing will free it from all its cream, and the skim milk of the Devon is equal in richness to the new milk of the Ayr- shire and Short Horn. The quantity is reputed to be small, and this is generally set down against them ; but there is a difference in the quantities given by different stocks of Devons. Devon cows of some breeds have given in Ameriqp, 3,500 quarts in a year, and will constantly average 1,600 to 1,800 quarts. They never come in with an immense bag, to dwindle down to nothing soon, but are constant and steady milkers till within a short time of calving.* They are very hardy, — both males and females thriving on pas- tures where a Durham would starve, — and the cows have not the tendency to milk diseases so characteristic of the Alderney. Does not this stock offer the best foundation for a New England breed, good for all parts of the country, high or low ? The general virtues of the Devon stock are shown in its already wide diffusion over New England, for by either chance or design most of the earliest importations were Devon, and their blood is now shown in the red cattle found in all parts of the country. Our farmer having selected his horned cattle, next turns to horses. The Morgan is the New England horse, and probably he will always maintain his supremacy for general purposes among our hills. Pigs must be bought, to eat up the skim milk, and their breeds, *" And two cows are mentioned in England, of the North Devon breed, one of which gave 19 1-2 pounds of butter in a week, and more than 480 pounds in a year. The other produced more than 20 pounds in a week." — ■ Odman's European Agriculture. THE FAEM. 393 of which there are many varieties, must be investigated. At one time the Suffolk bid fair to conquer all other breeds, and to drive out the " race horse " and " corkscrew " varieties. Undoubtedly ' the Sufifolks are valuable ; they fatten readily, and have but little waste, but they are tender in constitution, small, and make rather too large a proportion of fat pork. Their size is increased, and the pork not injured, by crossing with the longer bodied and larger framed Middlesex, Essex, Hampshire, and other breeds. Pigs can be improved or injured in two years, so that our farmer will soon settle the matter by experience ; they are easily raised, and take care of themselves. Not so sheep. If our farmer has decided on keeping sheep, he has selected a path sown with diflSculties, although promising great profits. The «heep farmer has two harvests, the wool and the mutton ; he must, therefore, in selecting his stock, have regard to both. At present our people are indifferent to the quality of the mutton they eat, and ai-e more governed, as in beef, by the size of the quarter and its handsome appearance, than by the quality of the meat. It will not always be so ; we are beginning to discriminate, and shall soon be willing to pay larger prices for mutton of delicate flavor and juicy tenderness, than for the coarse, rank, hard meat, so generally bought and sold. Liet our stock farmer select his sheep with an eye to the quality of the mutton, and- he will soon find a taste for the meat growing up among his customers, and a corresponding willingness to pay for it. But it happens that the sheep which give the largest fleece are less valuable for meat ; so we are in a dilemma ; unless we can get a high price for the carcase, we must try to get the largest fleeces. Our aim must be to improve some breed so as to combine both. Merino sheep now stand first for fleeces but do not give so choice mutton as other breeds. Sheep need more attention than any other stock, and if not well attended to at the lambing and tupping seasons, they will surely suf- fer ; and the young lambs need constant care. Fowls offer a field for improvement, as there are so many va^- rieties. Having settled all these points, and made ready the house, 394 FEBRUARY. grounds, kitchen, and flower gardens ; having built the best bam, and selected the most suitable stock, and bought some animals, our farmer finds that his farming is no child's play, but will need a great deal of thought and care, and that a field for study* and re- search is opened before him as varied and interesting as that oflfered by any other pursuit. The best food for the different creatures, the improvements to be made in food, in seed, in sowing, cultivat- ing, harvesting, and feeding will demand constant care and atten- tion, and the exercise of unflagging energy. He may be a boor if he chooses, may govern his estate by the saws and traditions of his ancestors, may believe in luck and the changes of the moon, may be a mere machine, valuable in so far as he helps to feed mankind, and pays his taxes ; or, on the other hand he may be an agreeable, educated, earnest man of practical science. I have made no reference to cereal and grass culture, or to his fruit or other interests, because they are secondary to his stock. The cereals and grass are of great importance and are to be im- proved as much as possible, but not more by the stock farmer than by others, and the methods followed by those who make these crops their principal objects will be imitated by him. This stock farmer has something new at all seasons, and some profit constantly accruing from the sale of early lambs, of wool, of mutton, of pasture-fed steers and oxen, of butter and cheese, of spare fruit, of winter-fed cattle, they are always bringing in a little ready money. And what is not spent on the household, should be in- vested in improvements, for improving one's farm is, as I have be- fore shown, a better investment than mortgages or bank stock. CHAPTER XLVI. GREENHOUSE, CONSERVATOKT,' AND HOTBEDS. ARCH. The work for all these structures has been described so minutely and anticipated in so 'many cases, that it is unnecessary to devote much time to them now. The long days and the high sun of March will give so much natural warmth, that fire heat may be almost dispensed with ; ventilation should be free, and constant care be taken to keep tha moisture of the houses as great as is demanded by plants in rapid growth. There will now be a larger supply of flowers than hitherto ; every plant will be either in blossom or rapidly swelling into buds, and the amateur or professional gardener may enjoy fully the pleas- ure or profit that he has looked forward to, from the very begin- ning of his winter's work. A well-filled greenhouse or conservatory in March is always a great satisfaction, and as in November its gay beauty consoled us for the decay without, so now its charms serve to moderate our eagerness for the coming of spring and to while away the tedious weeks of weary waiting for her warm days and soft winds and wild flowers. It is quite time now to finish our cuttings of the bedding-out plants for summer ; if set at this time, they will strike root before April, and be quite well grown by the middle of May, which is as early as it is generally safe to set them out. You wiU remember that I said the Camelias would be out of blossom in the spring, and would either be just making their growth, or have already made it. So, too, with other hard-wooded plants which blossomed early. They may be pruned into a desirable shape as soon as the wood is fairly ripened. 395 396 MAHCH. Azalias will be coming into bloom, and need plenty of watey. Besides the various methods of propagating plants, already de- scribed, is one adapted to hard-wooded plants, called inarching. Some of these plants are very difficult to graft, bud, or layer, and may be more successfully treated by inarching. ^ It differs from grafting in the scion's not being separated from the stock, from which it derives the whole, or a part, of its sup- port, until the junction is completely effected. There are very many methods of performing this operation ; the one generally followed is crown and side inarching. The spring is the usual season for out-of-door plants, the sap being then in rapid motion, but it may be done in greenhouses at any season when plants are growing. The plants to be inarched (one of which, at least, must, of course, be portable), are to be brought together, and the branches to be operated upon should be selected, and crossed, that the best point of juncture may be decided. Cut from each branch such a slice of the wood and bark, that when the branches are again crossed, they will just fit into each other, the sap-wood, cambium, and bark of one plant meeting the same parts of the other. Cover the whole joint with grafting-wax, to exclude the air. In about a fortnight the joint will be made, when cut the scion across the end, thus freeing it from its original stock. After another fortnight cut away the but-end of the scion, so as to leave none of it not grown to the stock, and the operation is completed. In all cases the scion and stock must be about the same diam- eter, in order to effect a perfect union between them. Sometimes scions, which have been cut off the parent plant, are inarched. This is done with such scions as are difficult to graft, they needing a constant supply of food. Inarch as before, but keep the but-end of the scion nearly verti- cal ; immerse it in a phial of water, and every few days remove the phial, and cut off a thin layer from the end. This will keep its vessels open, and enable them to absorb water for its support. Some gardeners stick the but-end in a piece of potato, for the same purpose. Resort must be had to some of these means of increase, with GEEENIIOUSE, ETC. 397 many of the choice exotics. But few flowers are naturally double, or beyond improvement by the gardener's skill ; but when im- proved they rarely generate seed which will produce the parent plant in all its perfections. Camelias are particularly troublesome in this respect. Oranges and Lemons are, if I may be allowed the expression, compound plants, and must be budded, grafted, or inarched, to produce flowers and fruit at an early age. It is easy to grow them from the seed, but only one or two kinds blossom, until four or five years from the seed. The rich fragrance of the blossoms, the color and character of the foliage, and the beauty of the fruit, render Oranges and Lem- ons favorite house plants, and they are easily cultivated. They like a strong, rich, and even clayey soil, and during their growing and blossoming season, should be watered once or twice a week with liquid manure. Their growth never stops, if they are properly managed, although it varies in rapidity with the seasons. It rarely happens that a collection of Orange trees is without some blossoms, and it is very common to see the trees, and even the same tree, bearing buds, blossoms, and fruit, at the same time. They are readily grown from cuttings, which are to be set, 3 or 4 inches long, half their depth into sand and loam. Give them gen- tle bottom-heat, and moisture, as to other cuttings. In a few weeks the cuttings will elongate ; as soon as the roots are well-developed, pot and treat like other hard-wooded plants. The plants, old and young, need constant, but not superabundant moisture. Too much or prolonged dryness will cause the leaves to fall off, which will not be replaced for a year or two. The seedhng plants may be budded or grafted the fall after they are planted ; if you want a standard plant, induce the seedlings to grow tall, by removing all side branches, as they appear. The Shaddock and Citron make the best stock for working, as they grow strong and rapidly, and make larger plants than others. If the plants are set into the shade during the summer, supply mois- ture sparingly. There are some small Orange-trees, fit only for flowers ; these can never be induced to make standards. When Oranges become diseased, turn them out of their tubs ; cut 34 398 MARCH. out decayed and old roots ; cut down the branches, or stems, to healthy buds ; give new soil and bottom-heat : the plant will soon throw out a new and healthy growth. These plants need, as they grow, very large pots, in order to sup- ply sufficient earth and manure, and this necessity is a serious drawback to their successful cultivation. This difficulty is obviated by the use of such a pot as is represented in the adjoin- ing cut. This pot is made of slate or of plank. If of plank, the inside must be covered with pitch, or any paint not affected by continued mois- ture, to insure durability. The sides, a and 5, are suspended on hinges, with close-fitting joints, and are held tight by transverse bars, d, which shut close on the opposite sides. The roots of plants in such pots can be examined at will, and loam added or removed. Roses, Achimenes, Gloxinias, Fuschias, Japan Lilies, Heaths, Calceolarias, Carnations, and Pansies should be repotted ; bedding plants be started from ciittings. Sow seeds of summer annuals. Give Cactuses, Heaths, and Cape Jessamines more water, and air well all plants in cold frames. ' ,-. . _ . m CHAPTER .XLVII. GEAPEET. The vines in the forcing-house are now rapidly breaking their buds, and must be tied up just as fast as they break evenly along the whole cane. The first growth is very rapid, and the fruit will show as soon as the shoot has grown two or three eyes. Allow them to grow until the lower leaves are pretty well expanded, and the flowers well formed; then cut back to one eye' beyond the fruit. Never in out or in-door culture cut back to the fruit, as is sometimes recommended. Remember the analogy between the leaves of the vine, the fruit-tree, and Corn, and recall the reasoning applied to topping Com, where it was shown that removing the upper leaves from the stalk deprives all below of nourishment ; so with the vine. The bud above the fruit will probably break and grow a little way ; stop it at an eye. The leaves thus formed will draw sap and elaborate it for the fruit. Leave but one shoot or spur. If you have too many spurs, you can cut them out at this sea- son without fear of bleeding ; the remaining leaves will consume all the sap supplied. Increase the temperature slowly, beginning at 60° to 65° by day, and 60° by night; rising even to 85° with the sunshine ; increase towards the last of the month to 70° to 75° by day, and 70° by night, allowing the sun to raise it even to 90° ; give plenty of air and syringe constantly. I hope it will be understood that no more leaves are to be re- moved than is necessary to allow the sun a reasonable access to the house, and to moderate the growth of the vine. Some persons, following the analogy of Corn-topping, assume that all the leaves and growth are necessary to perfect the plant and its fruit. But you know that it is necessary each year to cut back the vine, both to make it bear and to keep it within the limits 399 400 MARCH. of the house. You also know that no plant can grow without drawing on the soil for its support ; all that grows and is cut off is just so much impoverishment of the soil, and is an unjustifiable waste, if it could have been checked by summer pruning and pinching. Towards the last of the month the buds in the cold grapery begin to swell a little ; keep it cool, and do nothing to excite the vines into activity, as the next month will be soon enough to wish for any start. The retarding-house must be kept cool ; cover the glass with shades, canvass, etc., in the middle of bright, sunny days, and give as much air as you can without chilling the vines. In the forcing-house may be set on the shelves more Strawber- ries in pots, and as they ripen they must be attended to. Pots or boxes of Cucumber and Melon seeds, also. Renew the Cauli- flower plants as they mature, and set them on the shelf or in any convenient place. The Mushroom beds are now in active growth, and should be kept moist. K there is any room, French and Kidney Beans may be planted in boxes. Use all the spare room for pui-poses of culture. Broccoli, Cauli- flower, boxes and pots of Cardoons, Sea-kale, Lettuce, etc., may be set in the cold grapery, ready to be put into the forcing-house as they are wanted, but care must be taken that no dead leaves or insects are about them, as the injury these would do the vines would far exceed the value of the vegetables. These plants will all be gone by the time the vines are so grown as to need all the room, and exclude the light with their leaves. The vines in pots and troughs will be much more advanced than those on the rafters ; their berries should have already swelled, and be nearly ready for thinning. This process cannot be too carefully and thoroughly performed, whether in vines or fruit trees ; but in vines, especially, it is essen- tial to successful culture and perfect fruit. To thin, provide your- self with a pair of long, but narrow and fine-pointed scissors ; go over the vines carefully, bunch by bunch, and snip out every im- perfect berry, and enough perfect ones to reduce the bunch to a GRAPERY. 401 good and healthy proportion and size. No rule can be given to guide in this operation, from the difference in the size of the ber- ries, the larger ones needing more thinning than others. The pro- cess must be repeated when the Grapes color and sweU. Be very careful not to touch the berries with the hand, which would produce rust ; it is well to wear gloves. Remove the ber- ries that you cut off at once, as their decay would injure the atmos- phere. One great difficulty in Grape culture is shanking or shrivelling, that is, the drying up and discoloration of the bunch and footstalk. Many reasons have been given for this disease, and many reme- dies proposed. It attacks the cold grapery in the early summer months, but is less likely to trouble a forcing-house, where heat can be regulated^ and where ventilation, Ught, and moisture, are abundant: Mr. J. F. Allen, the author before quoted, says, that it is " a disease peculiar to the Grape in its culture under glass structures, caused by a deficiency of nourishment, which deficiency is occa- sioned principally by a defective atmosphere in the house, causing stagnation in the flow of the sap ; and this difficulty may be in- creased, and the spread of the evil promoted, by various causes, such as a poor border, general weakness of the vine, overcropping, and chiefly by not paying due care to the ventilation of the house." The last of the month, remove the litter from the border of the cold grapery, and cover it with a thick coat of strong horse ma- nure, which, by its fermentation, will begin to heat the border. The fruit trees in the forcing-house will soon begin to grow, and must be attended to, according to former directions. 34* CHAPTER XLVIII. FLOWER AND KITCHEN GARDEN. Beds of Ranunculuses, Daisies, Anemones, etc., should be opened as often as it is safe, and on some of them, it will be well to put sashes, as, by so doing, we may soon start growth and blossoms. But be careful not to let your spring enthusiasm get too much glass under way, as it demands a great deal of care and attention. Some time in March, if the weather is mild, and the ground thaws, the Snowdrops will bloom, and often in sheltered places, even before the snow is entirely gone. Crocuses will follow, and Pansies will prick up their leaves and venture into blossom ; Eng- lish Violets can be induced to bloom by setting movable glasses over them. A very simple contrivance which may be used to facilitate the blooming of such plants, is shown in the adjoining cut. A coinmon square box, without top or bottom. On the upper edge is fastened a rebated frame, the groove of which receives the pane of common glass a. The inclination •should be such that the rays of the sun will fall perpendicularly upon it at some part of the day. Lay around the bottom of the box, and over the adjoining ground for a few feet, leaves, or litter, to keep it a little warm. Plants thus enclosed, must receive due ventilation, and some water, as in a hotbed. You can get earlier Violets, Daisies, Polyanthuses, etc., by this method than by any other. Keep the roses and other plants which were frozen up in No- vember, in the coldest place possible, until into April, or, at least, until the ground is permanently thawed. Whatever kind of hotbeds you have decided to use, begin to heat 402 KITCHEN-GARDEN. 403 .1 them now, and, as soon as they are thoroughly warmed, sow the seeds of the earliest vegetables ; there is no hurry, as yet, about the seeds of annual or other flowering plants ; the last of the month, or the first of April will be time enough. Examine the beds in which Cabbage, Cauliflower, and Lettuce plants were wintered. If they are in good condition, and promise plants enough, no more seeds need be sown ; if not, plant the earliest varieties now. Keep the heat of the beds constant, till the young plants are well started, with little ventilation. After they have made a few leaves, give air cautiously, but enough to harden the plants gradually. Follow these sowings with Cucumbers and Melons. Those which are to be fruited in the bed, may be planted among the Lettuce and other plants, as the vines will not increase much before the Salads are all gone. If the Melons and Cucumbers are to be afterwards set out in the -garden, set small, square bits of sod, grass side down, or thumb pots, just under the surface ; sow the seeds on the earth over the sods or pots, so that when well grown, and when the weather will permit, they may be transplanted, sod and all, into the open ground. Towards the latter part of the month, we shall sow seeds of To- matoes. To get them extra early, sow the seeds the last of Febru- ary, or first of March. Remember what was saiti about selecting the seeds from the earliest ripened fruit of last year ; if our seed did not ripen as early as those of our neighbor, we had better buy his. "We shall not sow seeds of Salads, Parsley, Herbs, etc., as they will come early enough when planted in the open ground, but, if it were desirable, this would be the time to do it. Fill two frames with the Asparagus roots taken up in the autumn, for forcing. If planted according to previous directions, we shall have it for the table by the last of the month. Sow the seeds of Egg-plant, Broccoli, Endive, Cardoons, and prick out into the succession beds, some of the winter-saved Salad, Cabbage, or Cauliflower plants, for an early start. A market-gardener should begin in February or even in January to start his vegetables in hotbeds, for an early market, but the family wants, in a country place like ours, do not demand this. The little 404 MARCH. that we need can be grown easily in the forcing-house ; and if we had no such convenience, I should not advise you to have many hot- beds. They are costly and troublesome, and the vegetables grown to maturity in them never have the flavor which they attain when grown in the ordinary way. A well-managed kitchen-garden, with conservative pits and cold frames, will afford an ample supply of vegetables to carry a family fairly through the winter, till the nat- ural round begins again. There are some crops besides the tropical fruits which can be had only by hothouse culture ; and there are others, as Salads and Potatoes, that cannot be well preserved through the winter, and the use of which is so important, that we wish to have no interval without them. For Potatoes, indeed, we need hotbeds only to start the sprouts, and even for this they are not essential. In a dry, well-sheltered place, raise a bed of horse manure 18 inches deep, about the middle of March ; lay it down and beat it well with the fork, making the bed as long as you please, and any width. Over the manure lay 2 inches of loam, on which spread evenly seed Potatoes, whole if small, cut if large, and cover them with 2 inches of loam. Box it in with boards like a hotbed, and bank the outside with leaves and manure ; but be careful that it does not overheat and injure the Potatoes. The Potatoes will sprout,- and begin to grow, by the time it will do to set them out in April. "When planted they will require extra care. Plant them in ridges, slightly raised above the surface (not more than six inches) by manure, in a spot sheltered from the north and west, and well open to the east and south. Over the manure throw an inch of earth, on which place the potatoes, and cover them with two inches of earth. If the sprouts appear before frosts are gone, cover the ridges every night with long straw, old hay, or seaweed. This litter may be left in the furrows, shaken on with a dung-fork every night, and removed in the morning. Potatoes grown with this care will be ripe the last of June. If started in a hotbed they must be even more carefully watched, and as the sprouts appear you may cut them oif, with a little bit of the tuber, and prick them out in a new bed. They will all grow, and produce abundantly. KITCHEN-GARDEN. 405 No subject has been more discussed by cultivators, than the proper method of planting Potatoes ; whether whole or cut, large or small. It would seem as if this point might have been decided long ago, with regard to a plant so common, and so long known, but it is still a matter for experiment. I have seen Potatoes grown from parings, which had found their way, through the swill-pail, to the manure-heap, and liience to a hotbed, where they produced tubers. The same result has been obtained, when it was not a matter of accident. It seems really a simple question, and one that need not remain undecided, to engage the attention of horti- culturists year afler year. We know that as in the grapevine, the cutting of a single eye, or the budding of a single bud, grows read- ily, and produces for years ; so in the Potato, each eye or sprout will grow, and produce abundantly, when cut from the tuber, and planted separately. The eye, then, is a perfect germ, containing in itself all that is necessary to growth. Each tuber has many eyes, as a long grapevine cutting has many buds. When these eyes start to grow, their rootlets find a little food stored for them in the tuber, and when they have exhausted this, they must de- pend upon the earth to support them. It is true that the feebler rootlets may at first find their most suitable nourishment in the tuber, before they are able to select for themselves food in the soil, but beyond this the tuber is of no value ; and, as you see, we can eat our Potatoes and have them too. Of course the crop will be in proportion to the number of eyes planted. Whether small or large Potatoes are best, may depend somewhat on the variety, but in any case those should be used for seed which are the most mature. As in trees, and other plants, the best ripened buds, namely, those from the middle of the stem or branch, are always found to grow and bear quicker than others, so it is with the tubers of the potato. The Potatoes that we shall plant for early forcing are, Hill's Early, Early White, Chenangoes, and Jackson White. In our climate it is never safe to plant out-of-doors in March, any thing that can be injured by frost, but we may reduce the cov- ering from about the cold frames and lighten it over the Tulips, etc. so as gradually to harden them. 406 MARCH. You will find the Parsnips and Oyster plants which you covered over and left in the ground, last autumn, in fine condition for the table now, and the Horseradish may also be dug. Many kinds of vegetables which are rare in this country, might be cultivated to great advantage. The choice of vegetables for culture seems to be to a great extent, a matter of locality, some na- tions growing a few varieties in abundance, which others care but little about. For a notable example, take the Salad tribe ; the French depend upon Salads for a relish to every meal ; the Eng- lish ilse them but little, and we still less. In the Netherlands, Ar- tichokes, Cardoons, and some other vegetables, are more in favor than either in France or England. All these vegetables are good food, and especially valuable as affording a variety which is wholesome for all classes, and particu- larly beneficial to the poor, to whom vegetables afford a large amount of cheap and nutritious food. A description of the method of cultivating and using a few of them, may interest some persons, and to aid in introducing them to gen- eral attention, I have condensed the following directions from some English treatises : Artichokes are cooked and eaten in various ways ; the blossom, bud, or head, just before it expands, is eaten as a Salad, and, also pickled. The scales of the calyx, with the fleshy adherent portion, are pulled off, dipped in salt, oU, and vinegar, and eaten. The button, which is the top of the receptacle which holds the im- perfect seed, is sometimes eaten in the same way, sometimes fried in butter, sometimes used in fricassee and ragout, and sometimes pickled. The head may be quartered, and, after the chaffy down and seeds attached are removed, used as a Salad or pickled. Some cultivators, as soon as the leaves are well developed, and the flower stem beginning to grow, that is, the first of June, cut all level with the earth ; a new and vigorous growth of leaves follows, which, in the autumn, is held together, and hilled like Celery to blanch. It is then covered with a little litter, and in six weeks the blanching process will be over, and it may be cooked with drawn butter, or in various other ways, which are described in cookery books. In this state it is called Artichoke Chard. The Jerusalem Artichoke is another species of plant, is good food KITCHEN-GARDEN. 407 for cattle and hogs, and, if cultivated for this purpose will yield large and profitable crops, and some persons think, is superior to the common Potato for the table. There are several varieties of the Artichokes, some of which, produced by French gardeners, have very large heads. The globe is the one most used as food in England, and the best for a novice in culture to try. Others are the oval, or conical, the dwarf, globe, etc The seed of the Artichoke seldom ripens, in England, but freely on the continent of Europe, and on our own, in favorable and warm exposures. The bed may be made from seed, or slips, or eyes, or from dividing the tubers themselves. The suckers, or slips, are taken from the old roots as soon as they have formed some roots. The best way to take them, is to remove a little of the earth from the old tuber, and thus seeing the exact position of the slip, to cut off a small piece of the tuber with it. The suckers should be taken when from 12 to 15 inches high, with care not to injure the leaves ; plant them in rows 4 feet apart, sets 2 feet apart ; water till they are well established. The new sets will produce heads the first season, but not so early, or so large as the old ones. Ji^eep the ground well stirred, then cut out all the puckers that rise in the spring, except the three or four best. Cut the crop \Mtien matured, as it weakens the plant to allow it to flower, and, when the head is cut, remove the stem down to the root. In the autumn, when the heads are all gone, cover the bed with horse manure and tan. Early in the spring dig it in carefully, so as not to injure the crowns of the plants, and also dig plenty of manure into the alleys. The Artichoke is a gross feeder, and the roots run deep, so that the ground should be well enriched before making the bed. Salt in large quantities, and wood-ashes are found to contribute largely to the growth and development of these plants. If you wish to save any of the heads for future use, cut oflF with them, 3 or 4 feet of stem ; set them in a dark cellar in damp sand, and every day draw them out, and cut ofi^ a small bit of the stem ; they will thus continue to absorb moisture for a long time. 408 MARCH. You may divide the old roots if you choose, instead of taking off suckers ; this can be done any time after the buds have fairly be- gun to grow. But.it is thought by many that such plants never thrive as well as the suckers. The Jerusalem Artichoke, Helianthus tuberosus, is cut into eyes for planting, or set like Potatoes, and planted in well-manured ridges, 3 feet apart, and 8 inches between the sets, covered 3 inches deep ; cultivated through the season, and dug either in the fall of the same year, or the spring of the year ensuing. They are so hardy that they would endure our winters with no, or but a slight, covering. In digging, only the largest tubers are selected for use, the others being returned to the earth for the next year's crop, and a field once planted, *ill keep itself in bearing for several years, and will yield as abundantly as Potatoes. Many persons in Europe use them for the table constantly and with great relish. Cardoons are much prized on the continent of Europe, and somewhat used in England. The footstalk, as well as the midrib of the leaves, is used for stewing, soups, and even Salads, in au- tumn and winter. They require blanching, to make them tender, and to remove bitterness. Of course the longer the stems the better, the more rapidly grown the more tender, and the better blanched the more attractive they become. For cooking, the solid part of the stem is cut into lengths of 6 inches, and bdiled in pure fresh water until tender ; then remove the slime and strings which ■wUl cover the pieces, wash them clean, put in fresh cold water until wanted, then eat with white sauce, etc., as Artichokes. This plant is a perennial in the south of Europe, but an annual elsewhere ; it is sown every year in hotbeds in March, and out of doors in May. They would not be sure to do well in our climate, unless, like Celery, started in a hotbed. Sow in thumb-pots, or in bits of sod. Two ounces of seed will sow a bed of 32 square feet. Plants in pots may be set 14 inches apart in the rows, which should be 4 or 5 feet apart. The beds must be well manured be- fore the plants are set out, which they should be like Celery, when 18 inches high. Tie them to stakes 3 feet high, to prevent the leaves from breaking. Earth up at the same time, and continue to earth gradually as the leaves grow. Water should be supplied KITCHEN-GAKDEN. t 409 abundantly, and always, if possible, enriched with manure. They • will be ready for use in the autumn and through the winter, like Celery; treat it in the same manner, to protect it from cold weather. Endive is a salad plant of the Chicory family, like the Lettuce. It is sown in July or August, for winter use. Sow the seeds in beds, broadcast. Stimulate the growth of the plants as much as possible by liquid manure ; when 2^ inches high, prick out small kinds in rich soil, 4 inches apart ; water till they begin to grow. An early crop may be sown in May, and pricked out amongst Peas, Cabbage, etc. ; but few should be grown at a time, as the warm weather stimulates the production of flower and seed stems. Large kinds are to be planted 10 to 12 inches apart, in rich soil, in rows, 12 to 15 inches apart. As it is to grow late, the bed should slope to the south, to get the late sun. The Endive is to be blanched to make it perfect. As it blanches with some rapidity, do not prepare more than 6 or 8 days' supply at a time. Begin kt the end of the row, and holding the leaves close together ; tie a strand of matting aroun4 them, at the same time heaping up the earth. When the weather is cold, or not favorable for blanching in this way, use a blanching-pot. Invert a flower-pot over the plant, covering the hole in the bottom of the pot with a stone. An Endive pot is better. The knob at the top renders it easy to handle, and its flare encloses all the leaves. "When planted late, Endive comes into use just before winter, and with caye may be made a winter Salad. Tie up the leaves, raise the plant with a ball of earth, and set it | out in a dry and cool place, like the conserv- "^^^p ative pit. If it is to be depended upon for Salad, a cold pit or frame should be constructed on purpose. It bears a good deal of cold, and is a valuable adjunct to a winter table. It may be eaten boiled, if desired, as may Lettuce also, but must be blanched in either 'case. Succory, another plant of the same family, and indeed the type of the family, is also very valuable, both as a Salad and for its 35 410 MARCH. roots, which are used to adulterate coffee, and for other purposes. The seeds of Succory are sowed in June, in rich earth ; when the ' plants come up, thin in the rows 6 inches apart. By the beginning of October, the roots will be well grown ; they are then taken up and packed away for use. It is a perennial, and, like Carrots and Beets, it has stowed away in itself the material for a growth of leaves. If the blanched leaves are wanted in the early winter, set the roots as thickly as possible in a hotbed frame ; pack sand amongst them. A few weeks before they are wanted, lay over their crowns 6 or 8 inches of loam, and a foot of manure. The leaves soon shoot into this earth, and become white and crisp, and ready for use. They may also be packed horizontally in boxes, covered with earth, and set in a warm cellar ; before spring they wiU be found to have grown, and to be beautifully blanched. Or a cask of any kind may be bored with holes 1^ inches in diameter, and 3 inches apart ; insert roots all round, horizontally ; cover with earth, and make a new boring and a new layer of roots ; continue till the cask is full. Fill several in the same way, and set them in a cold place. When you want the Salad, remove one cask at a time into a warm place, and follow in a week or two by another ; the temperature to be from 40° to 60°. The leaves are to be cut when 7 to 8 inches long, taking a thin slice of the crown. To be eaten with oil, vinegar, and salt. Three handfuls will rrikke a good Salad. Dandelions are grown for our markets ; the seed is sown in May, the plants tended till winter, when they are covered up, and they start very early in the spring, giving larger and better Salad than the wild plants. It is eaten abroad, blanched like Succory. Mustard is more generally used for Salad than any other of this family of plants. The varieties are numerous, but all are culti- vated in the same manner. The plant is used when in the cotyle- don state ; the two first leaves thrown up by the seed. Sow it every three or four days, and set in such places as will insure the most rapid growth. Some London gardeners have the floors of hothouses covered with tan, and sprinkle the seed on every other day, thus keeping a KITCHEN-GAEDEN. 411 constant supply. The plants are cut when 3 inches high, tied in bunches, rinsed, and put on the table. Soaking in water injures all Salads of this family. The seed may be sown, for private use, in shallow boxes, and set in a warm but shaded place. Cresses are various in kind ; the "Water and Winter Cress are the ordinary kinds. Water Cress may be got by sowing the seed in any moderately still running water, or by laying branches of the plant on the surface, which will matui'e and spread their seed. They should be gathered young and eaten at once. Winter Cress is grown from seed sown in drills, in August ; half an ounce of seed will sow 20 feet of drill. As the plants grow, pick off the outside leaves for use, cut the flower stems down as they appear. A very slight protection will carry through the win- ter, the plants being thinned out in the autumn to prevent damp- ing off. Sea-kale is a Salad much used in Europe, and very valuable in all scorbutic diseases. The blanched shoots, and the midribs of the leaves are the parts eaten, and when ready for food, they are cooked like Cardoons. It may be grown from seed or from cut- tings of the root Seed should be sown late in April, in drills 2 inches deep, and 6 or 8 inches apart. Two ounces of seed wiU sow a bed of 32 square feet, broad-cast, or in drills a foot apart. The seed is very apt to be imperfect, but this may be easily ascer- tained by cutting them across ; the good ones wiU be plump and solid. When the seed vegetates, keep it clear, and when large enough, thin the plants to a foot apart ; the plants removed, may be trans- planted ; only one bud should be allowed to grow, although several wUl appear, particularly on plants which come from cuttings of the root. All summer, and through the fall, the plants are kept well hoed ; before winter cut them aU over, and cover with straw or manure. The young plants have very few fibrous roots, and a long tap root They are, therefore, easily set with a long wooden dibble, 3J feet long with a handle at the top, and a cross piece as a guage, from 9 to 12 inches from its point, but made so as to shift for shorter 412 MARCH. S5SQ roots than this, which is their average length. The lower part should be 3^ inches in diameter, tapering to 2 inches at an obtuse point. The holes should be made by one man, guided by a line, and followed by another man with the roots, which may be rapidly set in the holes, the soil filled in by a pressure of the foot. The young plants left covered in the fall, will start to grow very early in the spring, or may be forced. Before forcing, remove the leaves and lit- ter, then salt the' bed well, and syringe, or water with a caustic lime-water, to kill slugs, snails, etc. Cover the crowns of the plants with an inch or two of fine sand ; over the tops of the plants, set Sea-kale pots, which differ from the Cardoon pots, only in having a cover. Cover around the pots enough ferment- ing material, as horse manure, to raise the tem- perature of the bed to about 60°. In six or seven weeks, the pots will be full of the plant. The covers are necessary to enable us to ex- amine the growth and health of the plants. Various other con- trivances are resorted to, but none is so good as this. Boxes cov- ered with laths, and all similar arrangements admit the gases of the manure into the plants and injure them. The plants to be forced in the hotbed, are taken up in the au- tumn, and kept cool and dry till the time for forcing. Open a hot- bed frame, and fill as usual with manure ; then cover with enough earth to allow the roots to be set within 2 inches of their depth ; cut across the length of the bed, a trench, into which pack the roots as thick as possible ; cut another trench 5 inches from the last, and so on, until the bed is full. Cover the crowns with six inches of straw ; over the beds, nail hoops covered with mats or canvass, and cover the whole with straw. In this way an enormous quantity may be forced at once. Five well-grown heads are an ample sup- ply for a family at one time. The roots may also be forced, as directed for Cardoons. Whoever has a glass house of any kind, has opportunity to raise an unlimited supply of winter vegetables. Mustard may be sown KITCHEK-GAKDEN. 413 on the floor ; Sea-kale and Cardoons may be forced and blanched under tables, and along the flues, and Lettuce and Endive forced under the sashes. Borecole is another vegetable for winter and spring, much es- teemed wherever the winters are moderate. It is a Cabbage-like plant, but does not head like a Cabbage, nor blogsom like the Cauliflower. The crown, or centre of the plant is cut out in November, and continues in use through the winter, and if well protected by branches and litter, the stump wiU yield an abundance of delicate shoots in the spring. In character and treatment it is like the Cabbage. Broccoh is the last of these vegetables, not in common use, which I shall mention at present. It is used in winter and spring, when Cauliflower is not easily obtained, and the best varieties can hardly be distinguished from Cauliflower by the taste. Broccoli is grown from seed. Sow the seed in lines two feet apart, in holes two inches apart. Drop three seeds in each hole ; when they come up, thin out all but the best plant. For early use, sow the first of May ; for autumn, last of May ; for winter, last of June. Do not transplant unless necessary, as it induces the plant to button, i.e., run up prematurely in small flower-stems and buds ; as the plants grow, tread the earth hard about their roots. The first of November dig a trench through the warmest part of the garden ; take up all the plants which are expected to blossom in the early spring, and plant them out against the sloping bank of earth above the trench ; then cover the roots up to the lower leaves with earth. The plants will root in this position, and yet not grow much before spring. As winter comes on, cover the tops with Utter, not deeply ; remove it to give light and air, whenever the weather will permit. But be sure so to shelter the heads of the plants that the rain and snow will be shed off them, as otherwise they will rot. The full-grown plants may be set in a cold pit, or preserved, as I have hitherto directed, for Celery. It is somewhat doubtful whether plants preserved in trenches would always survive the weather in this climate, as they would be deprived of light and air in the severest season, but in moderate weather their success is 35* 414 MARCH. certain, and in the Middle or Southem States they would need no litter over their heads. Cauliflowers may be readily protected and forced, where there is a good conservative pit, or a greenhouse. The seed should be sown in seedbeds, the middle of August. As soon as well grown, prick them out 4 inches apart, in a cold frame ; when well started cool and check growth as much as possible. Cover at the approach of winter ; give light and air when possible, and towards spring put on the sashes, and induce growth. When the weather allows, transplant to a warm spot, and cover with a bell-glass, like the Endive pot, except in its material. The cut shows a still better protection. The bottom is a quad- rilateral of strong glass, set in an iron sash, four panes each side. An iron rebated edge is added to the top, into which a pyramidal cover is fitted of glass, in an iron frame. This cover can be removed at pleasure. By partly turning it we may give air, without too great exposure. If planted near a wall or close fence, they may be protected by mats or covers. For late summer use they may be sown in the hotbed this month, and in the open ground early in May ; they will blossom in September. They are easy to grow, needing only rich soil and good culture ; if they button, it is from poor soil or poor seed. The flower is often 9 inches in diameter, but this size is no proof of goodness ; 2 or 3 inches is the best size, and the perfection of a flower is shown in its creamy color and smooth texture. When the flower has opened enough to look bunchy or warty, much of its value is gone. It should be cut just below the flower, and all but the in- nermost leaves removed. If an early frost threatens, cut with a long stem, and hang up, heads down, in a cool, dark shed or cellar, and they may be preserved for some time. CHAPTER XLIX. ORCHARD. Lose no time in finishing pruning, as there will soon be other work to occupy the attention of the men. As you prune, be on the lookout for the eggs of insects. Caterpillar eggs of various kinds will be found glued to, the forks of twigs, and canker worms to the twigs themselves. If the trees were not well manured in the fall, cart out into the orchard now an abundance of manure, and leave it in convenient piles about the field for ready use, and just as soon as the frost will allow, dig it in. It may seem strange to my readers that I have so often directed that manure should be left in piles in the open fields, when it is one of the principles of gopd farming that manure should be kept under cover, to prevent the evaporation of the gases, and to avoid the washing of rain and snow. I have not enlarged on the method of making manure, as it is sq generally well understood. Manure should be mixed daily with meadow mud, sand, loam, or any similar material ; this absorbs the liquid portions of the manure, and the gases, and preserves them for the use of plants. I have directed that the manure heap should at times be sprinkled with weak sulphuric acid. This acid combines with the volatile gas of ammonia, one of the most valuable constituents of the ma- nure, and changes it into the sulphate of ammonia, which is not a volatile gas, but a salt, in a solid form, and soluble in water. Manure which has been well mixed with loam, can be affected but little by evaporation in winter, when the cold weather reduces any possible fermentation, and in every way discourages evapora- tion. It cannot be denied that rain will wash the pile, but this wash- ing will be less in winter, for then the manure is frozen, and yields less to the washing. And if the piles are made large, the loss will 415 416 MARCH. be slight, as the surface only will be affected, the great mass re- maining uninjured; and even this apparent loss is not total, as it will fertilize the neighboring grass. It is true that it is better whenever it is possible, to keep the manure under cover, but generally the room is needed for other purposes, and besides, the spring work is often hurried at the last, and it is a great saving of time to have it all ready on the spot where it is to be used. There is also some land too soft to cart upon in an unfrozen state. Canker Worms. — Towards the last of this month, if the weather is mild, and certainly in April, the canker worms will begin to come out of the ground, to ascend the trees, and lay their eggs. Now is the time to be after them, and if every farmer will carefully attend to his trees, this nuisance can be effectually destroyed, and with a combination of farmers for this purpose, the whole race of canker worms could be exterminated, and that of caterpillars reduced to a small remnant. But in every neighborhood there are always some slack or careless men, who will never unite with others for any good purpose, and their negligence results in injury to themselves and their neighbors. . The canker worm can be destroyed only by "care. The male is a miller, and flies where he choses, — whilst the female crawls. The egg being laid on the twigs of a tree, hatches, and the insect eats its fill, and after a time lowers itself into the ground, where it is transformed into a male or female worm. As soon as the frost is out of the soil in the spring, or during the mild weather in Oc- tober and November, they come to the surface, the females crawl, and the males fly, to the nearest tree. Up the tree they go, and on their passage the females are sought and fertilized by the male. Having ascended the tree, they lay their eggs and die. The method, of their destruction is simple. Surround the stem of the tree with some trap into which they may fall, or in which they may stick. The simplest plan is to tie tight round the but of a tree, a piece of tarred paper. Smear the paper with common coal tar, or some of the patent canker worm destroyers. They are all liquid, and a combination of tar and ORCHARD. 417 grease, wliich will remain for a long time soft in the air. The females crawl into it, and stick there. By renewing the prepara- tion every few days during the season of their emergence, they may all be caught. Some of the eggs may not have hatched, either in the tree or on the ground, and wiU keep over till the next season, so that the work must be repeated every fall and spring for three years. At the end of that time the worms will be thor- oughly exterminated, and it will be many years before another horde can arrive at the same place. There are various canker worm traps, each of which has its merits, and once applied, some of them need no farther care for the season ; but I should discountenance all which are bound tight round the tree for more than a few months at a time, as they will surely prevent its expansion and growth, and do serious harm. The cheap plan that I have described is harmless and efficient ; more expensive and less unsightly methods may be adopted by those who prefer them. This protection against the attacks of canker-worms and cater- pillars, brings us directly to the general subject of the removal of insects and their eggs from the surface of trees. The most common practice among gardeners and amateurs is, in the spring of each year to go round with a triangular scraper, to curry down aU the trees in the orchard and ornamental grounds, whose rough bark seems to harbor insects. After being scraped as smooth and round as possible, the trees are covered with a wash of lime, mud, or cement, to cover the torn bark, and farther to eradi- cate the insects. This practice is nearly universal, and supported by very illogical reasoning. You will remember that I have before directed that the trees and vines cultivated under glass, should be washed with soft soap, sul- phur, etc., before vegetation begins, and also that some of them should sometimes be bathed in spirits of tar, to remove the eggs and the young of thrips, red spiders, etc. This direction was given, because the eggs of all these insects are laid upon the outside of the bark, or in its crevices, and may be thus destroyed, and because the insects themselves are destruc- tive to the trees when under glass, but not when out of doors. 418 MARCH. This sound horticultural practice, together with the strength of a certain authority, has led to scraping and washing. Those who have the charge of the trees on Boston Common annu- ally scrape every Elm, and other rough-barked tree, and then plaster them. This treatment of ornamental trees seems to have originated in the false reasoning of some Boston theorist, and has spread far and wide, from the weight of the great example, among the smaller towns. The reasoning seems to be that it would not be done in Boston if it were not right ; and that if it is right for Boston, it is right for every place. The conclusion would be well enough, if the premises were correct ; but it is neither right for Boston trees nor any other trees, and it cannot be proved that any tree out of a fruithouse was ever benefited by such application. This wholesale denial may seem rash to those who advocate scraping, but I believe it to be incontrovertible. The good eflfects of the practice in the fruithouse, have joined with a misapprehension about the meaning of a common natural phe- nomenon to encourage the tree-scraping. This phenomenon is the abundance of Lichens and Mosses of various kinds on all diseased trees, whether in cultivated grounds or not. These para- 'sites being the constant accompaniments of disease in trees, have been supposed to be the cause of the disease, when in fact they are merely the consequence. It would be as reasonable to assume that the hurried pulse, and hot, red skin of scarlet fever are the cause of the disease, and to practise for their removal accordingly. They are the symptoms and consequences of the fever, which de- part with it ; and the same is true of the parasites, of those at least which are at all harmful. But let us take up this question methodically, and examine separately each of the supposed bene- fits of the scraping process. Its advocates claim that it removes from trees destructive insects and injurious parasites. First, the insects. Many nests of eggs, and sometimes insects themselves, may be found in tlie rough bark of any tree in the spring, and scraping and washing would probably kill them. But examination of these eggs has proved again and again that they are the eggs and larvse of spiders, and other insects, not known to be materially injurious to vegetation. The insects which really OKCHAKD. 419 make the bark a screen for attacks on the tree are tree-borers and wood-wasps, which go through the bark at once into the wood, and can only be killed with a wire, as before directed, and another borer, which goes under the bark, and cannot be reached till the entire thickness of bark is removed. The woolly-aphis and bark- louse lay eggs on the bark, near the roots, and in the forks of the branches, but never accumulate in sufficient numbers to harm the tree, and certainly need not be scraped for where they do not exist. AU other insects that really injure trees, such as canker-worms and caterpillars, lay their eggs on the twigs, and in the forks of the small branches, or on and under the leaves ; in these situations it is, of course, impossible to reach them by scraping. I do not give this more in detail, because I think it foolish to write at length about things with regard to which any candid reader may satisfy himself by a slight investigation. The insects so injurious to trees and vines under glass, almost never attack a tree or vine in the open air, unless under some pecu- liar circumstances, which would not be aflFected by scraping and washing. Lay it down, then, as a rule in your horticultural practice, that no tree is to be thus treated for the removal or prevention of in- sects. Second, parasites. Driven from the untenable ground that scraping saves the tree from destructive insects, our opponents fall back with confidence on the assertion that no more certain means can be contrived to remove parasites. The bark of every tree is the home of different Lichens, Mosses, Liverworts, which may be included under the name of parasites, and, moreover, diffi2rent trees support different and peculiar species, which as surely mark the variety of tree as do the fruit and flower. Now what is the value of the bark to the tree ? We have already settled that the inside bark alone is actively engaged in supporting the tree, that the outside bark is dead and almost entirely disconnected with the inner and sap-transmitting layer ; that it grows thicker as the tree grows older, till in some trees, like the Cork Oak, White Oak, Shell-bark Hickory, it be- comes so useless as to be thrown off by the action of the elements, 420 MAECH. in strips and fragments of various sizes. The innumerable para- sites which live upon the bark, are all nourished by roots of some kind, — whether real roots or a root surface to the under side of the frond, — but of aU the multitud^e only a very small number ever penetrate — by roots or otherwise — to the inner and living sap-bark, and none of these are found to injure healthy trees, on which they never largely spread. The only parasites which pene- trate to the inner bark (like the usnea harhata) make their appear- ance on trees that have begun to deteriorate, and as the tree grows more unhealthy, they increase in number. They are the hasty pulse and red skin of the fever patient. Will it cure the sick tree to scrape them off? The currying process, then, is inefficient as regards the removal or prevention of destructive insects, and there is no need of it to remove parasites. It does no good. Let us see whether it does no harm. The outer bark serves a useful purpose to the tree, though it carries no sap which the parasite can intercept and appropriate ; it is a clothing for protection against heat and cold, both to those trees on which it grows rough and loose, and to those where it be- comes closer, harder, more condensed with each successive season, as is the case with the Smooth-barked Hickories, the Maples, and Lindens. The rough bark is like the wool of sheep, the smoother, denser bark, like the skin of men. If any farther illustration is needed, it may be found in the fabrics we select for our winter clothing, thick, non-conducting materials. This half-dead, outer bark protects the inner bark and wood against heat and cold ; pre- vents the early spring sun from overheating them ; protects the sap that has begun to stir from the night frost, which would freeze it, and so burst the sap vessels ; and is equally and for the same reason useful in the fall. Now sci-ape a tree all over, reducing the thickness of the bark appreciably, and just so much do you reduce its clothing, nature's shield, just sp much do you expose the tree to injury. Again, this outer bark is a protection against excessive evapora- tion. We have already considered the pores by which leaves ab- sorb and exhale moisture. In a similar way young or tender bark ORCHAKD. 421 takes in or gives out moisture, the degree differing with local cir- cumstances and the habits of the plant. The Sunflower, and all plants which grow in constantly wet places, evaporate largely through their skin and bark, and the microscope shows that they do this by means of the breathing pores of which the outer layer or epidermis of their skin is full. The Cactus, and other plants which grow where there are alternate floods and droughts, have very few of these breathing pores in their epidermis ; they evap- orate but slowly. To use a common phrase, their outer bark or skin is close grained, that of the former class loose grained. The same difference is found in the outer bark of the young and old plants of any species, to correspond to the activity of evapora- tion (as of all other processes) in early life, and its gradual dimi- nution, and to the increase of leaves. Obviously it is not intended by nature that there should be much evaporation from the bark of trees. Their inner bark is of open texture, and will evaporate freely if exposed ; so it is covered by a layer which evaporates almost nothing. Trees transplanted from the deep forest, even if they have an abundance of roots and the best care, into the open land, are very liable to die, and the few that live are years in getting strength, and making any appre- ciable growth. These trees are in all respects like those grown in open land, excepting that having been protected by the surround- ing forest, they have never needed to acquire that closeness — or thickness — and hardness of outer bark which alone can defend a tree in the open land against heat and cold, drying wind and sun. The forest tree, never visited by searching winds and scorching sun, evaporates more of its waste moisture through the bark than the tree in the fleld ; it must, for it needs to perspire more than it can do through its somewhat scanty leaves, bathed in the moist forest air ; accordingly the pores of its bark are adjusted and used for perspiration. When this tree is removed to open land, where the air is dry, the sun hot, the wind free, it evaporates too much through its bark, and must make a new bark to meet the, emer- gency. A tree whose protecting bark has been scraped off, so that its tender inner bark is exposed, will evaporate moisture like the 36 422 MARCH. transplanted forest tree, and its consequent suffering will be in proportion to the extent of the scraping. To the scraping succeeds the wash, sometimes of mud, with no particular character, and doing no harm except by its disgusting unsightliness ; sometimes of alkalies. Dip your hand in a vessel of lime or potash water ! Even if you remove it at once it feels slippery ; the alkali has eaten away some of it, turned it into soap. Keep it there long enough, and it will be reduced to soft poap. Substitute for your hand a piece of wood ; it will soon be rotted. The advocates of scraping, not content with cutting off a large part of the bark, which nature provides, follow with an alkaline wash, to rot more ; they say that this wash is to neutralize the acids in the bark, which nourish parasites. What did nature put the acid there for ? To be removed by men ? If so, why are not the trees in woods and forests, in places unvisited by men, destitute of acids, as they cannot be relieved of them, and must, therefore, be predestined to ruin ? How foolish such a theory ! As we have seen, parasites do no harm, and we have no excuse for robbing them of their food. Lichens and Moss a Benefit. — So much for the harm done to the tree by this process, for the loss which may result to your pocket. Another loss is certain to result, that of the exquisite beauty which dwells in the parasites. Not even the leaves, or the tracery of the branches, or the grand simplicity of the stems contribute more to the beauty of the tree, than these parasites, by their color and form. Visit the noblest trees you know, and carefully examine them in detail, to determine the elements of their beauty, which combined give the tree its general effect and charm, form and color ; color of leaves, of wood, of bark ; color not merely positive and single, the same at all times, but changing, varying, sometimes brilliant, sometimes dull, but always harmonious and attractive. When flooded with sunlight, the local color of bark and parasites is lost in general light and shade. Then the irregular cracks and crevices in the bark, the roughness and variety of surface, seem the charm E-i P m S » K E-l fa O OKCHAED. ~ 423 of the stem, and make themselves felt. On a cloudy day, or after a rain, the same stem seems ablaze with a color and beauty of its own. The grays of one kind of Lichen are but a background to set forth and relieve the purples, yellows, and oranges of others ; the variety and subtle shading of color bewitch the eye. It seems in one spot, or on one side, as if the sun were shining, or rather as if the Lichen were gazing like the moon on the sun, which is veiled from us, and reproducing for us his glory. This color is no definite and definable thing, which may be seen and appreciated by all aUke ; to catch its full charm one needs a discerning and cultivated eye, and the more that eye is exercised, the finer our sense of color becomes, the greater our admiration and love for its exquisite beauty, until we are so lost in it as to be in danger of merging the greater in the less, worshipping the beauty of color, to the exclusion of the other charms of the tree. This love grows with exercise, and new fields of pleasure open before it, till those who indulge it really see colors in the clouds, the air, the earth, in the Mosses, Lichens, and leaves, unseen and unimagined by the common crowd. They never walk alone or unoccupied, they have sunlight in the cloudiest day, and the common sunlight has for them more than a common glory. The forms of this class of vegetation are, as varied and bewitch- ing as its colors. You may study them best on a rock covered — as rocks often are — with Lichens, starred with Liverworts, fringed with Mosses, and garlanded with Ferns ; it will give you hours of delight, and put you to the blush for having been so long ignorant of, or dead to, their value and charms. Scrape a tree or a rock (as well one as the other), and you ruth- lessly remove all this beauty, and despise and ruin that which the Creator delighted to honor, without getting even the poor satisfac- tion of a money return. We are the worst of iconoclasts ; we de- stroy all this beauty upon the mere suspicion that it is injurious, and we rudely trample under our feet that which was provided to feed arid develop our minds. The question then naturally arises, if all natural analogies and facts are against this practice, why do men spend time and money upon it ? Do no benefits arise ? 424 MARCH. The argument that " what is sauce for the goose, is sauce for the gander," is at the bottom of this mistake, leading to the application to ornamental trees, of the processes that have been thought bene- ficial to fruit trees, forgetting the fact that the finest specimens of ornamental trees are those discovered by explorers in places before unvisited, the spontaneous growth of unscraped, unwashed nature. But what is the fact with regard to fruit trees ? Has even this argument, poor as it is, any ground to start from ? I maintain that no diseased tree of any kind, has ever been bet- tered by mere scraping and washing. The first thing that a wise horticulturist does to such a tree, is to prune it, cutting out care- fUlly, aU decayed and worthless wood ; next, he digs about it, and manures it. The pruning, especially if he cuts off the top of the tree as well as the dead branches, will give the remaining wood all the sap that before feebly nourished the whole, and, accordingly, the roots be- come invigorated, the branches start with a new growth, larger and healthy leaves burst out, which in turn, make the sap better, and develop new roots, the tree grows and flourishes, and, no longer af- fording food to those parasites that fed on its decay, they gradually fall away, together with its old, rough bark. The digging and manuring hasten this process, and a horticultural victory is achieved. And this, without the .labor and expense of scraping, and with no risk of injury to the delicate inner bark, by exposing it to sun and wind' and frost. In conclusion, let me recapitulate : — ■ 1st, Insects. — No insects which harbor in the outer bark of trees, and can be removed by scraping and washing, are really in- jurious to the tree. All injurious insects either go below the bark, and into the wood, or are hatched from eggs laid on the twigs and small branches. 2d, Parasites. — No parasite, injurious to the tree, will fix upon it, unless it has become enfeebled by age or disease, and the tree cannot be cured by their violent removal. All other parasites are put on the bark by nature, to make it more beautiful, and it is a violation of the laws of good taste to remove them. OECHAEI). 425 3d. ' — No tree has ever been with certainty benefited by scrap- ing and washing, and it is an expensive process, and likely to in- jure the tree by exposing the delicate inner bark. 4th. — Any practice in horticulture, or agriculture, which vio- lates nature's laws, without undeniable advantage, is bad gardening, and bad farming, and a discredit to those who practise it. The month of March is so near the growing season, that the demands of the orchard for the year to come must be well con- sidered. We have on our place no new orcharding to plant, no trees to replace, as our orchards are all young or in their prime, but were we about making a new plantation, too much care and attention could hardly be paid, at this season, to a careful selection of the best kinds of trees. If you are planning the cultivation of fruit, remember the point continually urged ; it is not so much the quantity of fruit that is to be sought, as its quality ; its size, color, delicacy of flavor. Grow those fruits which will ripen at such times as the, market is generally bare of fruit. Every neighbor- hood is overstocked with fruit in the late summer and early au- tumn, and consequently such fruit is of small value, and much of it really does not pay for its raising. Winter apples come into the same category ; the large profits of the earliest orchards induced the planting of many more, until they have become so common, that in good Apple years they are hardly profitable. I do not mean to discourage the planting of orchards, but only to point out the necessity of a judicious selection of fruit. Those Apples which keep late will always command better prices than others, and of course the same is true of the earliest ones. There are other kinds of fruit culture much more profitable than that of Apples. I mean the Peach and the Pear. It is true that in New England the Peach-tree has deteriorated very much of late years, and it is thought by many that it is not worth while to cul- tivate it ; but a little observation, as we have before seen, of the causes of their degeneration, may show how it may be prevented. In the first place, many cultivators have been too grasping, and have grown grass in their Peach-orchards, which has of course drawn off nourishment from the trees. 36* 426 MARCH. Secondly, they have left them unpruned, and allowed them to remain unchecked, except by the frost, so that the unripened wood ,has staid on the tree, weakening it the next year, and injuring the new wood and the fruit. Thirdly, they have let the tree bear as much fruit as it would, and this always renders it small and imperfect. In the neighborhood of Boston, however, persons who have Peach-orchards of well-selected varieties, and well taken care of, have for several years past made a profit of several hundred dol- lars an acre, without any extra expense. Pears, however, offer a more certain return than Peaches, as the latter are often injured by late frosts in the spring. There is a great variety of Pears, but few kinds are really valuable, and the value of these varies very much with latitude and longitude. As we have said before, the latest fruit is most certainly remu- nerative. Common Iron Pears, which grow abundantly in hedger rows, are as valuable in the spring as the most delicate kinds in summer and autumn. But there are better winter Pears than the Iron, as for instance, the Easter Buerre, which is fit for the table in March, when it sells for very great prices. The great profit from the growth of Pears, arises not only from their large prjce, but from the abundant production of fruit to the acre. Alternating two dwarfs with one standard^ in the row, the trees being 12 feet apart, the standards will be 36 feet from each other. Then place the rows 20 feet apart, and set the trees so that the standards of the second row will each come opposite the middle of the space between the standards ^ of the first row, and of course the middle of the space between two dwarfs, and so on. This arrange- ment will allow 221 trees to the acre, d d S d d , ,. , 1 . ■, .,, and 01 these, one-thu-d will be stand- ards. These trees ought always to yield, g ^ a 3 afler well growing, at least two dozen Pears to the tree, which will never ORCHAKD. 427 be worth less than 50 cents a dozen, and often one or two doUarji. At the lowest price, the fruit will bring $221. This ought to be the receipts within four years of their setting out. Apples wiy not bear two barrels per tree, worth $1 net a barrel, for ten or fif- teen years. But if the trQes are planted in the improperly called Quincunx manner, as shown on page 107 of Thos. W. Field's Pear Culture, and 10 feet apart in the rows, and the rows 10 feet apart, not less than 473 trees can be easily, properly and profitably grown to the acre ; 8 feet apart as I have said, will suffice in rich land for Pears on the Quince stock, and 12 feet is enough for all kinds. Pears demand, as a sine qua non, a deep, friable, rich, well-drained soil, and constant care and culture, when they will certainly pay the cultivator large profits. Some may doubt whether this culture is as profitable as I say, because it is not more general. It is in this as in all new en- terprises ; the timidly conservative, the lazy and procrastinating, and the self-complacently shrewd have not embarked ; these last, with preternatural sagacity, predict that the thing will be overdone and the market overstocked, forgetting as they peer into the mill- stone, that population increases quite as fast as fruit. But the thing has been tried by many, and its success demonstrated, and my statement is founded on their experience. Pears will often bear much more than this calculation allo'ws, and may be much more closely planted, and in the course of 10 or 15 years the standards will grow two or three bushels of Pears apiece, worth from three to twelve dollars a bushel according to the fruit. The selection of Pears to suit any given soil, is rather a difficult matter ; it is a singular kind of fruit, and often a man's land will bring but one or two kinds to perfection, in which case he should devote himself exclusively to these, and give them a name and reputation. Other kinds of fruit-culture, as Grapes, Cranberries, etc., might be recommended, but I leave the consideration of them to another time. I wish especially to impress upon the farmer, that the early spring 428 MAECH. is the unoccupied time, ■when he should decide on the kind of fruit that he will cultivate, that when the season for work comes he may proceed with judgment and dispatch. Towards the last of March begm to graft, and continue through April. Scions cut after the buds begin to swell will not do well. CHAPTER L. THE FABM. Few persons can understand the immense importance of the farming interest. The dullest mind is impressed with the cost and value of manufactories, of ships, and warehouses ; no one goes into a large city without wondering at the variety of occupations, the number of inhabitants, and asking how they all live ; and yet, in comparison with the agricultural interest, all other trades and oc- cupations are a drop in the bucket. To the farmers fall the duty of feeding the world, and although floods of fine words are poured out yearly by the orators of agricultural societies, and by aspiring politicians, in praise of this occupation, few persons ever rise to the comprehension of its real magnitude. The value of the eggs of the domestic fowls of this country alone is from $30,000,000 to $40,000,000, and the value of the Grass crop is greater than that of any other crop, being worth, in the shape of hay, to live and slaughtered animals, $500,000,000. Small as may be the contribution of each person, to this aggregate, it is a contribution, and would be missed in some way, were it to fail. , The connection of supply and demand is very plain, and since the demand of food to support life is so constant, and great, it is of immense importance that no means should be left untried, to increase the amount and quality of the crop, without materially increasing its cost. To illustrate the waste and loss, which may result from the want or the neglect of such ' improvements, take the single item of horned cattle. Suppose a certain number of farmers in this country, to grow yearly, 100,000 cattle for fattening. These cattle are ill-selected in some respects ; instead of the small bones, and little offal, of the Shoi"t-horns, or the Devon stock, they have coarse bones and un- necessary-waste portions to the extent of 50 pounds, to put it at a 429 430 MARCH. figure small enough ; the average value per pound, of the animals' carcases, we will call six cents ; then the loss, per ammaly is $3, or $300,000 on the whole number. We have seen that there is no need of this coarseness ; care in selection when breeding would have avoided it. But this $300,000 is not the only loss. The coarser in nature, structure, bones, an animal, the more food he requires to gain a given weight. The greater amount of food necessary to fatten these coarse animals, than if they were fine, was not less than $2 an animal, or $200,000 more. A common stock farmer will have 50 head of cattle at a time, and, for the 100,000 cattle, 2,000 farmers thus lost $250 dollars apiece, $5 a head on their ani- mals. This calculation is much too small, for almost every New England stock farmer knows that his cattle have much more than 60 pounds of unnecessary waste, which does not exist in the choicest cattle. But it shows how important small things are to the farmer, and also, how exact a science farming is, giving as much opportu- nity for head work, as for hand work ; and, when we consider the great aggregate of agricultural products, it becomes apparent how large gains slip through their hands. It may seem of little consequence whether the profits of a man, who cultivates his farm with no thought of any thing outside its boundaries, are great or small ; but this is a mistake, and is felt to be one, where farming is acknowledged as one of the sciences. As our agriculture advances, we feel the value of small gains more strongly. While our stock roams over large pastures, and our hay crop is too large to be consumed, or sold, we care but little about a few pounds of waste in any animal, but just as soon as we begin to feed our stock on purchased provisions, and to be restricted in our range of profit to the difference between the cost of food and the market price of the fattened animal, the disadvantage of coarse- ness in limb and material is forced upon us, and we seek to avoid it. Stall Feeding. — The second kind of stock farming is charac- terized by stall feeding the animals to be fattened ; in it, pasturage is of little consequence, as the animal is but rarely turned out, and only for air and exercise. It is because of the rude state of our general agriculture, that stall-feeding is so little practised among us. THE FAEM. 431 Among farmers determined to get the largest possible return from their land, it will always be practised. I do not mean to say that our common farmers have no stall-fed cattle, for almost every one of them has some pair of oxen, some old cow, some calf which is fed on Roots, Hay, Meal, etc., through the winter, to increase its weight ; but there is no general practise of this sort, it being con- sidered unprofitable. This second kind of stock farming will prevail most in level, alluvial countries, where land is too valuable to be given up to pasture. The crops of such a farm will be decided by the kind of stock kept. Sheep of all ages -may be grown on it, both for wool and mutton, as the sheep fats at 18 months to 2 or 3 years of age, and the food eaten by the young animal is no loss. But if it is to fatten neat cattle, there will be no young . creatures ; those which have been grown in a pasture country, and have reached the best age to fatten, will be bought, and the process hurried for- ward as fast as possible. The kind of stock decides the food, the food the crop, and thus the whole arrangement of the farm depends directly on the stock. It seems almost impossible to our country farmers that there can be any profit in fattening cattle, unless most of the fat is acquired in pastures, thus costing nothing, as they think ; and yet the best experience has shown that the profit of fattening falls to the stall- feeding farmer much more than to the pasture-feeding farmer. Let us take a single animal as our example, and ascertain what is the proper treatment for it, and then we may conclusively reason for a number. Our farmer in the fall buys an ox ; if he be shrewd, he will select one in good condition, and growing, because an animal never lays fat on the outside, where it shows, till there is some accumula- tion within, so that good condition externally is a proof of the same internally. But there are other marks which he regards in making his selection ; he feels the hide, taking it up in his fingers ; if it slides easily over the bones, is pliable, he knows that the crea- ture is inclined to fat ; he looks at its eyes, for if they are mild and gentle, the creature will be quiet and make fat faster. He rejects every animal with large bones, coarse hair, general un- 432 MARCH. wieldiness, as he knows these indicate an internal structure that must be supported, but is worth little. Besides these marks, there are others which he cannot describe, but knows to be important. Having bought his beast, he drives it slowly home. I assume that this man is a wise and growing farmer. He begins to feed with Hay, like his neighbors, and finding no gain in this, he adds some Meal. He calculates the weight and value of the Hay and Meal, and the cost of care. He weighs the creature occasionally, to see exactly *what he gains. Dissatisfied with the experiment, which he finds, as his neighbors prophesied, a costly one, he turns to the books. They tell him that oil meal, rape-cake, and other food, have been found equal to or better than corn meal, for fatten- ing, and cheaper ; he accordingly tries it, feeds as before, and weighs his animal, noting the gain or loss. As he reads farther, he finds that Turnips and other Roots are excellent aids to meal; he draws upon his stock of Roots, and feeds, noticing the gain as before. Further inquiry informs him that the Turnips boiled with the Meal, have been found by some more fattening than when raw. Again he tries the experiment, continuing to weigh and notice the result, charging as before, the cost of Meal, Hay, Turnips, interest on cost of animal and tools, wear and tear, labor and fuel. From time to time he compares his records with those of others ; he learns that warmth is benefi- cial as well in building as in food, and so by degrees he. learns the best and cheapest food for fattening. Whether the result of his experiments is like that of the English and European experiments or not, he makes note of it. When the animal is fattened, he sells it, and then makes up his final account of profit and loss. In whatever way the balance turns, he knows that his experiments have cost him something, so to make quite sure he begins anew. This time he is careful to buy animals of small bones and little waste ; he puts them into the stall, and feeds by that plan which his experience has decided to be the best, and if any prophecy may be founded on the facts of universal experience, he will gain a fair profit by the operation, and this profit will have arisen from abandoning the exclusive use of Hay and Corn, according to the common country practice, and THE , FARM. 433 by the use of other kinds of food. And in addition to this pecu- niary profit, he gets a great deal of very valuable and highly en- riched manure. The results of such experiments as this in England have had a great influence in revolutionizing agriculture. From the fact that animals fattened faster when fed on Turnips and other Eoots, in ad- dition to Meal and Hay, than when kept on Meal and Hay alone, and that the process was hastened still more when the Eoots were given as the main food, and Meal and Hay in less proportion ; at- tention was turned to the general culture of Eoots, and they were found to yield enormously, in comparison to the amount of land occupied, and the cost of production. This crop then furnished the greatest amount of food for stock, which returned a manure richer than that resulting from Hay-feeding, to be the food for future crops. It also appeared that Boot crops made the land better in the cheapest way, and their culture soon took the place of the clumsy method by which exhausted land had formerly been brought again into bearing. However fertile land may be, however much it may be improved by draining and irrigation, constant cropping will reduce its fer- tility, till at last it is not worth cultivating, and no crop does this sooner than Grain. But Grain, together with the products of flocks and herds, which fed on the natural pasture of the farm, was the main reliance of the farmers of the old style ; and of this they could take but a few crops before their land was exhausted. To restore it, they resorted to what is called a " bare fallow," that is, the field was left uncultivated for awhile, to be slowly fertilized by sun, wind, and rain. If during this " bare fallow " the ground was kept clear of weeds and frequently ploughed, it gained enough to grow another Corn, or " white crop," as it is usually called. The fallow system was improved by the aid of manuring, which, of course, hastened the process of restoring fertility. Farmers were early aware that this impoveraHkient of land, where one crop had been grown for successive ye^re, was because its supply of the peculiar food of those crops was exhausted, and that it could be enriched again only by cultivating it with some 37 434 MAECH. other crop, or by the naked fallow. It seems the simplest way, to cultivate a crop which would not require the same food as the pre- vious crop, but could thrive on some of the materials still left in the soil; and it may seem incredible to us that men should so long have groped on the threshold of the discovery of this principle, the full application of which has wrought so marvellous a change in agriculture ; but the proper practice of the rotation of crops has not been introduced into our country, and we are now where the farmers of the " bare fallow " period were in England. To return : at that time Roots were cultivated only for family- use or for occasional sale, never for fodder crops ; Grass and Grain were the crops of that day. The wastefulness of this course will appear more plainly, if we consider for a moment the difference between the demand and the return of different crops. The pro- duction of seed, is the aim of the life of all plants, and is accom- plished either directly, as in the Grain crop, or indirectly, by storing partially elaborated material in some convenient place, to be com- pleted and ripened as seed in another year, as in the case of Tur- nips, etc. Now the Grain draws on the soil more largely than the Turnip, for two reasons : it has less time in which to do its work, for it must prepare the ripe seed (which may be regarded as the concen- trated extract of the plant) in a single year ; and it has but little means of drawing from any source except the soil. Its slender stem and narrow leaves are not adapted to absorb much nourishment from the air ; it must be fed through the root, and impoverishes the soil proportionately. But the Turnip, which lays up a store in the root, has twice as^ long to prepare its seed, and can go through the slower process of obtaining a large amount of its food from the air. Accordingly it is furnished with the means for doing this, as may be seen in any Root plant, or in other plants with a similar plan of growth. The surface of leaves exposed to the air is large, com- pared with thejfoots, and experiment has repeatedly demonstrated that they dramon the atmosphere much more largely than on the •earth. * This difference in the demands of the Root and Grain crops points them out as fit successors to each other, and this grows plainer the THE FARM. 435 more we consider the dififerenee between the food necessary to elaborate seed, and that capable of giving the largest bulk of leaves and roots. Could farmers ever be induced to consider their crops in this abstract way, they would save trouble, time, and expense. This great principle of rotation of crops was dimly recognized in the substitution of Grass for Grain on the exhausted fields, and in due time of a fallow for the Grass ; but in this way there was great loss of time and acreage. So long as farmers believe that Hay and Grain alone are sufficient to produce good beef and mutton, so long they are mdifferent to the difference between the Root and Grain crops, for it is wasteful to grow crops for which one has no use, merely because the land will produce them. But when it was dis- covered that Roots of all kinds were not only good food, but the best food for cattle, those farmers who believed in the discovery cultivated Roots, and found not only that their value as food was in- contestible, but that with a given expenditure in manure and labor, Roots gave a larger return in value than any other crop. This was the tuming-poitlt, the rising tide-wave of improved agriculture. The new crop was an improvement in every respect ; it restored fertility better than the fallow, gave an immense amount of fodder, and ensured a corresponding increase in manure, from the greater number of cattle which could be fed from the farm. Under the old system — the same pursued in New England at the present day — there was a large and a small white crop, one large yield of Hay, then smaller and smaller, then good pasture, then poor. This rotation gave a change from better to worse. The new practice demonstrated that there need be' no "worse;" it showed that a Root crop should fallow the sod, and should be followed by Grain ; that again by Grain, or Grass and Clover ; that by pasture and Roots. At first it was made a point that a white crop should never be taken two years in succession, and after going through Roots and Grass, it was found, on returning to the white crop, that the ground was so much richer than before, that a number of bushels was taken previously unheard o^n the neighbor- hood. A succession of rotations had the same result, until the poor- est land has become rich ; some land too rich, and it has at last been necessary to take two white crops in succession, to check the waste 436 MARCH. power of the soil, which produced so heavy a burden of straw timt the grain suffered. Do not think that the mere introduction of Roots effected this wonder of converting worthless into fertile lands. Draining and irrigating were used to improve and stimulate ; as the process went on, it was found that the stock did not give manure enough to sat- isfy the farmer ; other manure was sought and found in guano, and in artificial manure. Oil meal, and similar food, before mentioned, was resorted to to supply certain elements which were wanting in Turnips. Cattle no longer roamed over meagre land, but if pas- tured at all, fed on rich Clover or Grass aftermath, and being soon filled, lay down to digest in quiet, and so got more nourishment from their food. The farmer did not care to grow the cattle in their young and unprofitable years, but bought them at a fair price from hill pas- tures, just as they reached the age for fattening. The pasture farmer in his turn studied to increase the size and rapidity of growth of his young cattle, that they might the sooner be ready for market, and might bring the highest price. And thus a wheel was set in motion, which touched all the agricultural interests ; the more crops, the more labor ; the more labor the more outlay of capital ; and this led to the invention of labor-saving machines, which again gave the farmer power to grow greater crops. It is not at all necessary to enlarge on these mutual relations and their progress ; it is enough to put you in the way to see how largely the agriculture of another country has been benefited by the intelli- gent introduction of what is called rotation of crops. Here I shall be met by the assertion, with which the indifferent or obstinate American farmer, answers all arguments drawn from the rise and progress of British agriculture; viz., that the cost of labor here, forbids the cultivation of the more troublesome crops. Let the cost of labor be what it may, there is no truth in this as- sertion. The question is not of the cost, but of the net profit; and the most costly§crop may yet be the most profitable. In truth, it i-! not to the cost, but to the trouble, that these farmers object. Crops which require much labor and watching, do not suit the happy-go- lucky man, whose method of getting a fair crop of grain from THE PAEM. 437 unexhausted land is very simple. He cuts off and burns the wood, ploughs rudely, and harrows in the seed, leaving the stumps stand- ing, the water-courses undrained, the rocks unremoved ; he gives the crop no further attention, till it is fit to cut. Year after year this process is repeated, till the land refuses to yield enough to pay for the labor ; then a scanty dressing of manure^ given, or per- haps some rude attempts at drainage are made, or the plough runs deeper, and the land is held a little longer under cultivation. Our New England farmers are wont to deride the practice of the men who have reduced Virginia, Western New York, and other States, from unbounded fertility to sterility, or something scarcely better, by bad and exhausting farming ; yet our average farming differs from this only in degree, not in kind. It is not enough to do a little better than you have done ; if you are to be the best farmer, you must entirely remodel and reform your practice. To cultivate an acre of ground thoroughly is a costly process, and demands a liberal outlay of time and money. If it is wet, it must be drained, and poor draining is exceedingly foolish. The cost of digging the drain is the same, whether it is to be laid with tiles or stones ; and this main expense is out of all proportion to any difference between the cost of these two mate- rials, and must, besides, be incurred anew whenever any repairs are made. A tile drain will last from 60 to 100 years, a covered stone drain will last equally long, a blind drain but a few years, a brush drain a still shorter time, and an open drain is always out of order. Besides the ultimate loss of the cost of the open drain, which is to be met when they are remade at the end of about 15 years, is the loss of land for culture where they are. "When properly made they occupy about one-eleventh of the acre, so that if the crop is Hay, assuming the net value to be $12 for the growth of 2 tons to the acre, they will displace $1.09 worth of hay, which in tlie 15 years at interest, with annual los^ would equal $25.18. The cost of the drains would be at least $48.20, which with repairs and in- terest in 15 years, would be $196.48 per acre, and at that time might be reckoned as a loss, as they would have to be remade. If, instead of this open drain, you lay a tile drain, it will cost to complete the work, about $50 per acre, which in 15 years will 37* 438 MARCH. amount to $126.24. At the end of 15 years the drains are as good as at first, and in comparison with the open drain, there is an absolute profit of $126.24 to begin again with. In 15 j^ears more this profit, aside from that of culture, will amount to $317.69, and if 10 acres are reclaimed instead of 1, this profit in 10 years will be $3,176.90, ii^rely by the substitution of the better drain, while the profit of the culture is yet to be estimated. This calculation has been based on the largest cost of the drain, and the lowest price of Hay. The drain can be well laid for much less, and the price of Hay rarely goes down so low in New Eng- land. But there are many better crops than Hay, — Corn, Wheat, Rye, or better still, Roots. It would be easy to grow upon land thus drained, crops which would not otherwise have grown on it at all, and which will pay at least $10 extra profit ; which would be 60 per cent on the cost of the improvement, or in 15 years with interest $936.48. An enormous sum, certainly, as the return from a single acre improved ; and this is no romantic theory, but so plain a fact in business, that the English Government have established a large fund to be loaned at low interest, to land-owners, to enable and induce them to make improvements in drainage. Many farm- ers borrowed thousands of dollars from this fund, and gained an ample return. Indeed, one reason why our farmers are so far behind the times in these matters, is, that they are without the capital sufficient to make these improvements, or, at least, they think they are ; for they cannot spare the few hundreds that they " lay up " in bank stock, or mortgage bonds, that give them 6 per cent, and do not see that the same money invested in their farms, would pay ten times as much, and even more ; for this $50 cost is mostly for labor, which may, in many cases, be done by the farmer himself. Farmers cannot believe, when they see a drain full of water, that a little two inch hole, with or without loose stones, could carry that all oflF. The outlet is the important thing ; give a drain fall enough, and 2 inches will discharge an enormous quantity of water in a day. And by cutting the drain 3 or 4 feet deep, the springs can be cut off", and the subterranean waters stopped and carried off" before they get to the surface. Sucli drainage would double the value of THE FARM. 439 thousands of acres in New England, which are now but half culti- vated, because they are too wet in spring and fall. There is an argument against making valuable permanent im- provements, which has great weight with farmers, and is even quoted by those who have considerable intelligence, as being con- clusive ; viz., that for the sum necessary to thorougMy drain an acre, one can buy another acre as good as the first. So he can, and be just one acre poorer than before. You farm to grow rich ; by buying more land you grow poor. In the case of the two acres, you must pay taxes on both, you must manure both ; you must plough and plant, hoe and harvest, two acres instead of one. To plough 10 inches deep will cost, per acre, $3, beside wear and tear of tools, say 25 cents ($3.25) ; to sow with Corn, at least 50 cents ($3.75) ; to hoe twice, $2 ($5.75) ; to cultivate, $2 ($7.75) ; to thoroughly manure with barnyard ma- nure, $20 per acre ($27.75) ; to harvest, $4 ($31.75), or more according to the crop ; making together, an expense of not less than $33 per acre. Allowing $20 profit per acre, there would be from the two acres, a profit of $40, or $33 less than from the one reclaimed acre, which, paying the cost of cultivation, would yield $40 profit per acre. It may seem unfair that I should allow $40 as the profit of a well-drained acre, and only $20 as the profit for the unimproved acre purchased. A moment's thought will show that it is not unfair ; the very fact of having drained a field well, wiU induce you to cultivate it twice as well, — indeed, it implies some accessories of good culture. The stones used to fill in the drain ditch, are gathered from the surface of the field, much to its improvement ; and, what is a more conclusive argument, if the un- improved acre can yield $40 net profit, it cannot be bought for $71. Thus there will be the difierence between $40 and $7, or in 15 years, as before, the sum of $730.81. There will be another benefit from thoroughly cultivating what we have ; if we apply thorough drainage, etc., to an acre of our un- productive pasture, we can put the whole $40 into our pocket, be-' side raising the value of the property we now have, in place of in- creasing our barren acres. The drawback to profit in agriculture 440 MARCH. is the cost of culture, and this is undeniably halved by confining ourselves to the one acre. The draining lightens and deepens the soil ; the manure from above, is met by the accumulated manure from below ; the roots of the crop are fed in the warm earth and manure above, during the first of the season, and are cooled, fed, and stimulated, by the sub- soil in hot, dry summer, and early autumn. Unquestionably, we shall need but half the manure necessary for two acres ; we can keep fewer men, do the work quicker, be less exposed to the dan- ger of early and late frosts, have less care and anxiety. But, as I have said, this is but the beginning of good culture. In our anxiety to get the most from our one acre, we shall plough deep. The value of deep ploughing is almost self-evident ; plants accustomed to find their food in six inches of earth, and to live or starve, as that food was sufficient, or insufficient, because an im- passable barrier met them at that depth, now have twelve inches in which to find food, — the accumulated food of ages ; and you have thus added another acre of land six inches deep, to your farm, and so situated that the plants cannot fail to get the full benefit of it. Next comes sowing the seed. Be it what it may, enough is bet- ter than too much ; first, it costs less ; second, it is more quickly sowed ; third, it needs less thinning when up ; fourth, it is more easily kept clean. To sow the seed of Turnips, or other Roots, by hand, is a long and tedious process, and wastes much time and seed, but with a seed-sower, a man will sow several acres a day. I will not, therefore, charge the improved acre with the cost and interest on the cost of the seed-sower ; both will be saved in two crops. Suppose that instead of such small seed, you plant Indian Corn, or smaller Grain. Indian Com may be rapidly deposited from some of the new corn-sowers, at just the same distance from hill to hill, with the same number of corns in each hill, and all the rows straight, at a large saving of seed and time, more than enough to pay the cost of the sower in one season's culture. How long it would'be neces- sary to talk to New England farmers, to satisfy them that all small THE FARM. , 441 Grains are vastly more economically sowed by the use of grain- drills, whilst the yield is increased, I do not know ; but in England the drill has been used by the most intelligent farmers, who find a saving of from 1 to 2 pecks of seed to the acre (50 cents to $1), and from 50 to 150 per cent in the cost of sowing. The seed is aU evenly sowed, and therefore comes up quicker, and loses less from birds, that are ready to pick up badly covered grains ; the plants grow better from all having the same room ; all the heads fiU out alike, from abundance of air and light, and a fair share of soil ; and lastly, and chiefly, the field can be weeded. How horror- stricken would our farmers be, if asked to weed a wheatfield ? I do not say, that with the price of labor here, we could make much money by'weedmg Wheat by hand, although in England, at the cost of 1 to 2 dollars per acre, a gain of 2 to 3 bushels of Wheat, has been made; or $4 to $6 by weeding; and when weeded by horse-hoes, at a cost of 75 cents to $1 per acre, the same gain is made. Weeding has the advantage of removing all the weeds, which exhaust the soil in proportion to their number ; it stirs the earth, and gives the roots a better chance to push, and induces the Wheat to tiller, or produce more stalks, and consequently more heads and more straw. And it removes the weeds for all time, helping to bring the land to a condition of perfect cleanliness. Under this method seed is sown 7 to 9 inches apart, and yet the yield per acre is equal to and greater than the yield under the system of sowing broad- cast, and covering all the land. So far has this been carried, that in special experiments, and in the general practice of some farmers, it has been shown that by throwing a field into ridges 3 feet wide, and 3 feet apart, and sowing only the alternate ridges, and cultivat- ing with care and cleanliness, the yield is as great in the average as when drilled 7 to 9 inches apart, or sown broadcast. But some Western farmer will say : " 'Tis all very well to cul- tivate an acre of Wheat this way ; it could not be done in my fields of 200 or 300 acres." One English gentleman, whom I propose to refer to presently, has 500 acres of Wheat, which are sowed by drill and weeded, and he, as I shall show you, has grown rich by farming. ^ To pass on to the Turnips. Suppose them sowed by a seed-sower, 442 MARCH. they must next be thinned. If they are in rows 2 feet to 30 mches apart, they may be cut into gaps of 12 inches, by two blows of a 6 inch, or three blows of a 4 inch hoe, and thus the single plants left ; these, losing their accustomed support, wiU fall over, but in a day or two will recover. Practice will enable the laborer to readily single his Turnips, cutting away all but the one he wants left. Be- fore singling begins, the rows should be scuffled, or cleaned with the horse-hoe or cultivator. Next, as the Turnips begin to grow, hoe them. The benefit of hoeing to th'e crop is enormous ; it increases the yield some hundred bushels to the acre, and yet, strange as it may seem, it was years before the body of English farmers could be induced to grow Turnips at all, and years more before those who did grow them could be induced to hoe them. Earnest agricul- turists labored till they were heart-sick, to persuade the mass of farmers to cultivate their Turnips properly, and one of them tells how for years his neighbors came and looked over the wall, and sneered at him while thus wasting his time, as they held hoeing Turnips to be. But our farmer must hoe. I have rudely blocked out the treatment of the improved acre in the common crops. Thus cultivated for successive years, with a judicious use of the crops, it will make the farmer rich. The prac- tice is the same for many acres as for one, and to perfect success in either, a careful system of rotation of crops is necessary. Irriga- tion may also be necessary, but it has been sufficiently advocated on in a previous month. Our model farmer in New England will therefore grow rich if he perseveres, for the ratio of profit when the crop is harvested is the same, whether here or in England. Farmers who do not like to confess their unwillingness to adopt improvements, fall back upon the high price of labor, as an excuse for not growing Root crops. This is the weakest of reasons. Labor and watchfulness and judicious rotation of crops are the things necessary to success in all cases ; and in all countries where the same object is sought, the means must be similar. If to grow a fat ox be the aim of two farmers, with one of whom labor is cheap, with the other dear, there is no difference in their desire for profit ; each wishes the largest possible. Each wished to feed his ox on the most fattening THE FARM. 443 food ; which has been ascertained to be both Grain and Roots. Now, what is the relative cost of producing each of these crops ? In view of the ultimate value of each, Grain is the more costly of the two ; Turnips give the largest return, whether to the man who pays high, or to him who pays low wages. This being the case, it is all important that the man who pays the most for labor, should grow the best crop. If Corn cost $32 an acre, with $20 proiit, and Tur- nips cost $42, with $60 profit, it does not matter that the latter cost a third more, if they pay three times as well at that cost. In carrying out these several estimates, I have set a fixed value upon the crops we raise, and allowed 90 cents a bushel for Corn, and $8 for stover and 50 bushels of Corn to the acre. I have al- lowed 20 cents a bushel as the value. of Sweeds Turnips, or Man- gold "Wurzel, to feed out. Some farmer might take exceptions to my reasoning in this wise : Turnips are not worth as much as that to sell in my town ; there is no market for them. They are worth that to feed out, and I propose that you take land which will yield 1-J tons of Hay to the acre, and cultivate it well in Sweeds or Man- gold, they will certainly yield you, one year with another, 20 to 25 tons to the acre. Careful experiments, tried very many times, have shown that to feed out one part of Hay, is equal to five of Turnips. Thus from your land you now get out 1^ tons of Hay, but for home consumption, to make beef, mutton, wool, or milk, by Boot culture, that which is equivalent to 5 tons of hay. The cost of the 1^ tonsof hay was about $12 an acre, and the profit $10 ; the cost of the Turnips $40, the profit, on the Hay basis, $30, and really much more ; the average of 20 estimates by New England farmers, of the cost of an acre of Ruta-Bagas, or Mangolds, is $40. See Coleman's reports. The profit, relative to cost, is the same, but the money in pocket four times as great at the end of the year. , Besides, I have shown how this difference between the price of American and of English labor may be nearly done away, by em- ploying machinery to do the bulk X)f the work. The cost of tile draining has nothing to do with this point, remember ; we start upon our outlay as fixed capital. Ploughing, harrowing, sowing, cultivating, may be done by horse power. The Grain may be harvested by horse power ; and by machinery 444 MARCH. in the barn, we may thresh and sort our Grain, cut our fodder and Roots, and feed them out, so that all the labor will be reduced to the lowest cost. Perhaps all this is met by the old objection of want of capital to invest. Let me once and for all reply : take your farm as you find it ; make the best of it, and invest every cent of profit not needed for your family, in improvements ; and be assured, each new investment will pay well. The poorer a man is, the less can he afibrd to farm slovenly. If you are so poor that you must CJirry out your manure in a wheelbarrow, and dig it in with a spade, spread it thickly over a small surface, dig 12 instead of 6 inches deep, cultivate with scrupulous care, and you will find the return most satisfactory. Be not deceived by that most specious and ruinous of theories, that you make more money by spreading the manure of one acre over two, and cultivating two acres in the time before allowed for one ; for though the crop of the two acres may be double the crop of one of them, each yields but half what it should. One acre would have given you as much as both these, if it had received all the manure and proper culture, and at a much less cost. Suppose your farm has six fields, and you have decided to begin a rotation. If the land is poor, I advise at first a 6 years rotation, something as follows : — FIELDS. Year. No. 1. No. 2. No. 3 No. 4 No. 5. No. 6. l8t Wheat. Turnips Turnips. Spring Grain and Grass. Spring Grain and Grass. Grass 1st year Grass 2d year or Pasture. Potatoes. Wheat. Turnips. Grass 1st year. Grass 2d year or Pasture. " Potatoes. " Grass 2d year or Pasture. , Potatoes. 2d Potatoes. Wheat. Wheat. 8d Spring Grain and Grass. Grass 1st year Grass 2d year or Pasture. Potatoes. Grass 1st year. Grass 2d year or Pasture. Potatoes. "Wheat." Turnips. 4th 5th Wheat. Turnips. Spring Grain and Grass. Turnips. Spring Grain and Grass. Grass. Spring Grain and Grass, Grass 1st year. 6th Grass 2d year or Pasture 1st Wheat. Turnips. Spring Grain and Grass. Grass. Pasture. Potatoes. If your farm is large, and each field contains many acres, you THE FARM. 445 may introduce a variety of crops ; and if your land is strong, you may take two white crops in succession. Thus : in place of Pota- toes and Pasture, you may have Indian Corn and leave out the Pasture ; or you may have half Turnips and half Potatoes ; or half Potatoes and half Indian Corn, etc., etc. ; or you may grow Flax, Hemp, Tohacco, etc. , By this course you will ensure the largest crops, and wiil keep your weeds well down for each crop. The hoed Potatoes or Indian Corn, will hold the land clean for the Wheat, which will then need less weeding ; the Turnips will clean it well for the spring Grain, and that well cleaned will ensure 3 or 4 tons of ;Grass to the acre the first year, and as much the second, unless you pas- ture it, which, in my opinion, is but a slovenly kind of farming. As you continue to grow crops to fatten your stall-fed animals, you will verify what has already been said about the advantage of adding meal to the Turnips and Hay, the economy of buying oil- meal rather than growing Corn, the consequent increase of manure for the Turnips, which, with Potatoes and Indian Corn, should be the dunged crops. You will find that by drilling in somB guano or other artificial manure with the seed of your Turnips or your Grain, you will drive the Roots ahead of the fly, and get a fine early growth, and you will give the Grain an early set, which will increase the yield from $5 to $10 an acre. This increase will be clear profit, so much more capital to put into other improvements, which shall give a like increase, and so on without limit. You see that this farmer I am portraying, js no mere Hodge, a tiller of the soil, a peasant. He is a careful reasoner, a chemist, an anatomist ; a merchant who studies the markets of the world, to guide him in his purchases of manure and feed, and in his sales of crops ; an anatomist in his familiarity with the structure of stock, by which his treatment of them is guided ; a practical chem- ist, because he must learn the constituent elements of his crops and soils, and of the manures with which he feeds the plants ; without this he is still a bungler. How great this "subject of manures is, we shall show in a future month. It may seem rather late in the day to advocate tlie cultivation 38 446 MARCH. of Turnips, now that they are becoming diseased and are less used in England ; but it does not follow that they will deteriorate here ; the very opposite result may follow, as the English seed direct has never given as much satisfection here as home-grown seed. And besides, there are other Roots : the Mangold Wurzel, the Carrot and Parsnip, which are even better than the Turnip, and what I have said holds true of them. Our farmers feel that in these improvements they are entering an unknown country, and they are afraid to hazard their hard-won earnings on these new ventures. They think they get their money too hard to waste or risk it ; they know that in the old way they can make a living ; may they not lose all by this change ? What foohsh, cowardly drivelling, to come from a race of men famed for their courage and enterprise ! men who, for a mere chance of bettering their condition, will sell off at a low price, and emigrate to a new country, where they can get new land only at the price of all the hardships of a pioneer's life. What inconsist- ency to risk so much for new land in the West, while they dare not risk a dollar for the new land, the new farm, under their feet, unworn virgin soil, that only waits to be called upon, to be stimu- lated by the caresses of the sun and the soothing of the rain, to give crops which will burst your barns and swell your purse ! Are you afraid to risk labor in a business in which Englishmen have invested thousands of dollars, with a sure profit? Be not deceived about the " ratio of labor ! " the proportion of profit is the same here as in England ; if you spend less, or invest less, you get less ; and more, as you invest more to develop the resources of your farm. Remembering this, — remembering that 60 years ago the most profitable and fertile farms in England were where yours now are, read these statements of the men who have tried the ex- periments, and made the money. " Mr. Rodwell, in Suffolk, sunk $25,000 in mere mariing 820 acres of land, with a lease of only 28 years, and during the 28 years of his occupancy, his produce was $150,000 greater than in the 28 years which preceded his improvements.". This land was hired, and this money spent, as an investment of capital. Think of it, farmers of New England. THE FARM. ,447 This practice of marling, applied to clay lands, it is said by Ar- thur Young, a distinguished agricultural writer of the early part of the last century, " has turned 300,000 or 400,000 acres of waste into' gardens, and rents rose from between 10 to 40 cents, to $3 and $4 per acre. Many of the tenants realized a capital larger than the reputed value of the property." " A Mr. Mallet made a fortune in 30 years,' upon a farm of 1,500 acres, and bought land of his own, of the value of $8,500 a year. A more remarkable example, even, than that of the Scotch proprietor mentioned by Dr. Cartwright, who, being compelled to sell his estate, hired it on a lease, and afterwards repurchased it with the profits he derived from his tenantry.'' By drainage alone, " hundreds and thousands of acres, formerly condemned to remain for pasture, or to grow at long intervals un- certain crops of Com and Beans, have been laid dry, and rendered fertile, and brought into regular rotation, in which Roots find their place. Sheep stock thrive where previously a few dairy cows starved, the produce has been trebled, the rental raised, and the demand for labor increased in proportion. In the neighborhood of Yorkshire manufactories, moorland, not worth a shilling (25 cents) an acre, has been converted into dairy farms worth £2 ($10) per acre." "A secured public loan of £4,000,000 was granted in 1856, and it has been estimated that in the ten previous years upwards of £16,000,000 was invested by the nation, and by private companies and individuals, in thorough drainage. A Mr. Nelson, one of the late Lord Tarborough's tenants, used to say that he did not care who knew that he had made £80,000 by employing bones (as a manure), before other people knew the use of them." " The pecuniary gains of agricultural progress, are not to be es- timated by the mere saving in wages, horse labor, seed or manure. Thorough draining not only diminishes the cost of ploughing, but it renders it possible to grow great crops of Roots, of Mangold Wurzel, from 30 to 35 tons to the acre, and of Turnips from 20 to 25 tons ; ten times more live stock is thus fed on the land, than it maintained before ; the Corn crop follows the Roots in due course, 448 MARCH. without farther manuring, and is made certain in addition, even in wet seasons. " Under high farming, the manual labor employed is both in- creased and concentrated. A greater number of men are required per acre, and a lesser number in proportion to the produce. With mechanical assistance, the crops are less dependent on the seasons, and each operation is more quickly performed." " With improved breeding, the stock is increased in quantity, more early matured, and gives better and finer animals. Four-year old horned sheep are replaced by mutton grown in 18 months. The aged cows, and worn-out oxen, wljich form the staple of the con- tinental meat market, lose from 15 to 20 per cent more in cook- ing, than our well-fattened oxen and heifers, to say nothing of the difference in the flesh. At every stage, the farmer who farms for money profit — not like the backwoodsman, the metayer, or peasant proprietor, merely to feed his family — loses by rude im- plements, ignorant cultivation, and coarse-bred live stock. At every stage of progress the modern English farm becomes more like a manufactory, producing on a limited surface, enormous quan- tities of food for man, turning Peruvian guano into Corn, bones from the Pampas into Roots, Russian Oil-cake into Egyptian Beans, and Syrian Locust-pods into beef and mutton.'' " The gain to the farmer and the landlord, is, we repeat, the most insignificant part of the benefit ; the agriculturist is the manufac- turer of food for the nation, and upon his skill, under Providence, it depends whether plenty or scarcity prevails in the land." "Mr. John Hudson, of Castle-acre, entered upon his now cele- brated farm, in 1822. It consists of self-drained, light, Suffolk soil." " At that period the only portable manure was rape cake, which cost £13 a ton, and did not produce any visible effects for months. The whole live stock consisted of 200 sheep, a,nd 40 cattle of the old Norfolk breed. He adopted what was then the new, now the old, and what is destined to become obsolete, four course Norfolk system ; that is to say, 250 acres pasture, 200 Wheat, 300 Barley, or in dear years, 600 Wheat, 300 Roots, and 300 seeds, the rest being gardens and coverts. On these 1,200 acres he at present THE FARM. 449 maintains 10 dairy cows, 36 cart horses, a flock of 400 breeding ewes, and fattens and sells 250 Short-horns, Herefords, Devons, or Scots, and 3000 South Down sheep. The crop of Sweeds (Turnips) average from 25 to 30 tons, and of Mangolds 30 to 35 tons per acre. His Wheat had in 1855, averaged for the 5 previous years, 48 bush- els per acre, and Barley 56 bushels. Of the seeds, the Clover is mowed for Hay, the Trefoil and White Clover are fed, down by sheep, and there are no bare fallows. The purchased food given to the cattle in the strawyards and sheds, and to the sheep in the field, consisting of Oil-cake, Meal, and Beans, costs £2,000 a year. The greater part of the OU-cake is changed to manure, which it enriches in quahty, as well as increases in quantity. But the direct ex- penditure in artificial manures, guano, nitrate of soda, and super phosphate of lime, amounts, in addition, to £1,000 a year ; wages ab- sorb £2,500 to £3,000 a year. Seven or eight wagon loads per acre, of farmyard manure, are ploughed into the land for Roots, besides above 24 shillings per acre of super phosphate of lime, drilled in with the Turnip seed, while Wheat has a top dressing of 1 cwt. guano, ^ cwt. nitrate soda, and 2 cwt. salt mixed" with earth and ashes. No weeds are grown. The Turnips are taken up in November, and a troop of boys and girls under the charge of an experienced man, traverse the ground, forking out, and burning every particle of Twitch (Grass) and Thistle. The same troop is called in during the pcogress of the Root crop, whenever occasion requires, and immediately after harvest, they go over the stubbles, with their little three-pronged forks, exterminating the slightest ves- tige of a weed. The expenses of clearing are kept down to a shilhng an acre (this is in England ; it would cost at least 80 cents here), which proves that by stopping the evil at the source, and never allowing the enemy to get ahead, land may be kept wholly weeded, more cheaply than half weeded." " The farmer who saw a thief, daily stealing from his dung-heap, would soon call in the aid of a policeman. The weeds are an army of scattered thieves, and if the pilferings of each are small in amount, the aggregate is immense." " He who allows himself to be daily robbed of his crops, and the community to the same extent of food, and all the while looks 38* 450 MARCH. helplessly on, is not only a bad farmer, but in effect, though not in design, a bad citizen also." " At Sedlington, where there is a strong clay to deal with, and more good grass land than at Castleacre, it is not necessary to pur- chase so much food to feed, to keep live stock for manure. But there were about 150 cattle, and 1,000 sheep sold fat, besides a choice breeding flock of Devons, the result of 20 years' care. By these sheep the light land is consolidated and enriched. If they are store sheep, they are allowed to gnaw the Turnips on the ground for part of the year. If they are young, and to be fatted for market (this would be American practice), they are drawn, topped, tailed, and sliced, with a portable machine. Thus feeding by day, and penned successively over every part of the field at night, they fertilize and compress, as effectually as any roller, the light, blowing sand, and prepare soil which would scarcely feed a family of rabbits, for luxuriant Corn crops. The cattle, consisting of two-year old Devons, Herefords, and Short-horns, or three-year old Scots, or Anglesea runts, pur- chased at fairs, according to the supply and market price, in spring and summer, are run on the inferior pasture till winter, then taken into the yards or stalls, fed with Hay, S weeds. Mangolds, Ground- cake, Linseed or Barley meal, and allowed an unlimited supply of clean water. When the spring comes, they are put on the best Grass, and sent off to market as soon as they become ripe, having left behind them a store of manure, which is the capital from which every thing else must spring." " Under the old system [the same as our New England system], 300 acres were poor pasture ; now, under the rotation system, the strong clay feeds four times as much live stock as before, and bears Wheat, at least twice in four years.'' " According to the latest experience, the most profitable sys- tem in its present light condition, would be to devote the farmyard dung to growing Clover, to eat down the Clover with folded sheep, and then to use the ground fertilized by the roots of the Clover, without home-made manure, for cereal crops, assisted by a top- dressing of guano, to be followed by Eoots, nourished with super- phosphate of lime. No land is here lost by unnecessary fences, no THE FAEM. 461 force is wasted on ill-bred live stock, no fertility is consumed by weeds, no time or labor is thrown away.'' A comparison instituted by Young, between two neighboring counties, applies well to this country and England. " A lazy desire to creep with sluggish monotony along an estab- lished path, and a feeling of impatience at being pushed into a novel track, helped to maintain hereditary prejudices, and truants in- vented fanciful excuses for not doing what was plainly advantageous to be done, because they preferred present sloth to future profit. "They were like a man who had lain upon one side, till he shrunk from the trouble of turning over to the other, though when the process was performed the new posture might be easier than the old. But once roused and put in motion, and the inherent re- luctance to stir overcome, the gain in interest as well as pocket, was felt to be very great." No one reading these English experiences, and many more like them, can help the burning shame flushing his face, that our people should be still standing on the frontier of the great realm of Agri- culture, — should hardly have taken a step into it, while other na- tions have marched far in and" appropriated enormous wealth. Talk as you please about the difference in price of labor, it is indisputable, 1st, that if it is profitable to farm at all, to grow any crops, to keep any cattle, it is more profitable to grow and keep the best, than the mediocre kinds ; 2nd, if but a given return can.be got from one acre at a given expense, it is better to increase the expense double or treble, if, by so doing, the profit can be doubled or trebled, even much more if it can be quadrupled or quintupled, as it unquestionably can ; and no man not stiff with lying on one side will deny it. 3d, Cattle, whether American or English, are the same in constitu- ent elements and conditions, and are nourished alike by the same food. Any kind of feeding which is profitable in England, will bear a proportionate profit here, and those crops which grow here with a merely nominal profit — say Corn — can hardly be turned into beef with much profit, any more than in England, while those crops which give enormous profits in both countries (Roots), arid are of great value as food for stock there, are proportionately so here. Yet with all the light shed on Root culture abroad, our agri- 452 MARCH. cultural newspapers contain every season accounts of some man's little experiment with one-half acre of Boots, and of the wonderful profit therefrom ; and to-day any man who has two acres in Roots, is a wonder to his neighborhood, and the wiseacres dubiously shake their heads, while Englishmen have 300 acres in Roots. 4th, Reasoning and experience has proved that rotation of crops is the life of successful farming, — unless in some special case, as Onions, — and yet how many of our so-called good farmers can show a creditable and long-continued rotation, or assure you that they really believe in such a thing ? A few men have ventured into draining, rotation of crops. Root culture, with the same awkward caution with which a boy ventures on skates for the first time, al- ways expecting a fall, and probably getting falls, all of which, how- ever, instead of being credited to ignorance or carelessness (where they belong), are debited to the new system of culture. Remember that we must have done with child's play and doubt- ing, we who are to be really improved farmers, and that we must not be dismayed by a few mishaps. Running and walking, like a man, is unquestionably more agreeable and valuable than creeping like a child ; but the child learns, slowly and feebly, to walk, and so must we. And let us entreat our agricultural editors, instead of devoting much time and space to the questions whether large or small potatoes are best for seed, whether free martins give milk, whether Ethan Allen trotted in 2.40 or 2.39, whether labor in England costs one-half or one-fourth as much as labor here, whether milk should be measured in a beer or a wine measure, to enter at once into the great question behind all these, and to show the people how a kindred race, by applying thought and capital to farming, have brought sands like those of Plymouth County, in Massachusetts, hard clays, like many about Boston, rocky and ster- rile lands, like much of New England, which is so impoverished as to make a man the poorer the more he has of it, to a fertility fully equal to the virgin soil of the West, capable of yielding 40 bushels of Wheat to the acre, whitened with countless flocks of sheep, rich with herds of fat cattle. We must balance our want of cheap labor by the invention and •adoption of machinery. Already steam has been applied in such ways, that for a first cost of $300, with the waste brush of the THE FARM. 453 farm for fuel, much of the work about the farm steading, which now occupies the time of many men, may be done by machinery. Mowing-machines, horse-rakes, improved tools, and last, and great- est, the steam-plough, are now ready to give us aid and strength, and to take much drudgery off our hands. The same spirit which has thus far in this book set the mental benefits of any occupation above all its other benefits, and which has urged the charms of nature, and the nobleness of the pursuit, as chief inducements to agriculture, encourages all agricultural im- provements, which make the life more profitable ; as I well know that the better a man's business pays him, the more time and incli- nation will he have for self-culture. As soon as the frost begins to leave the ground, open the irriga- tion drains, and let the water flow evenly oyer the Grass. After the Grass starts, flow for a few days at a time, and then withdraw for the same length of time, and again return ; by intermitting the flow of water in this way, the yield of Grass is increased, and the Grass is sweeter. Cart out the manure, and spread the piles pre- viously carted out. We shall hire two men for the season, and give each his regular work at once ; let one man always drive the horses, another the oxen, and do not commit them to either man indifferently, for one accustomed to the speed of horses is unfitted for sluggish oxen. As before, you, or the farmer and his boy, should do all the milking and feeding. Let the work be regularly planned and car- ried forward, so that each man cannot fail to know his duty. I do not mean that the farmer should make his plans and business known to all his men, as that is sure to introduce confusion and cause mis- chief; but it is a great advantage that each laborer should know his own work in advance, and should be made, if possible, to under- stand its importance and relation to the general whole. He thus gets a feeling of his own importance as he awakens to a sense of personal responsibility. In the plan of our barn, which is descri^^ed on the next page, I have endeavored to arrange every detail for convenience and true economy, and although some things preferred may at first seem far fetched, and perhaps even cumbersome, I think a trial of them will surely prove their merits. 454 MARCH. THE FARM. 465 Desceiption of ouk Baen. — Our barn has often been referred to, but never yet described. I will give its description now, to enable you better to understand some previous directions, and others yet to come- It is on a side- liill, which slopes so rapidly that we are enabled to enter all three stories with teams. This is very advantageous, as it simplifies and eases work. ITiEST Stokt, ok Cellae. — The lower story is the cellar. A marks the space devoted to manure, and I shows where the muck falls to from above. Tliis muck is, of course, mixed with the manure as we please. B is a space devoted to the storing of carts, and similar articles. C, hog-pen. D, hen- house, for general uses and laying. B, setting-room. F, pens for breeding- sows. G, foundation of story above. H, door into cellar. K, where the ma- nure comes into the hog-pen from the carriage horses, two stories liigher. The manure and urine of the cattle from the story above, shoots into the cellar through traps, like Browns patent coal-hole covers, which remove danger of cattle getting their legs through them. Second Stokt. — The second story is entered by teams at 7 7, and may be left and entered by animals and men by 7' T, also. 1 is the root cellar, al- ready described. 2, muck traps. 3, the box through which the manure of the carriage horses, in the third story, passes into the cellar. 4, the doors which admit carts into the root cellar, 9 feet wide. 5, the railway. This is the most convenient thing possible ; the rails are sunk into the floor, so as not to interfere with walking, and of course save a great deal of labor. 6, the flap which admits the car into the root cellar. 8, horse stalls, 5' by 9', with mangers and water, as before shown. 9, boxes to hold the cart harnesses. 10, cow stalls. 11, stalls for oxen. 12, cow mangers, and water-troughs, as de- scribed. 1 3, horse mangers. 14, spring doors, which shut tlie cattle out of the barn floor. 15, ox mangers. 16, mash-tub; there empties into it cut hay from above. 17, water-trough and ball-cock. 18, stairs up to chamber, and down to cellar. 19, empty space for carts, wagons, or wheelbarrows. 20, swill spouts, leading to cellar. 21, grain and tool room. 22, meal chests. 23, work bench. 24, boiler. 25, chimney Windows on all sides, to give abun- dant light and air. The floor of the third story, over the heads of the cattle, is pierced with holes, which convey air up through the haymows, to the venti- lator on the roof, and thus not only cool the hay, but ventilate the second story. Third Stoey. — 26, carriage-room. 27, floor of barn. 28, harness-room. 29, man's room. 30, hay bays. 31, stalls of carriage horses. 32, mangers, and water. 33, manure trap, leads to cellar. 34, meal-chest ; 35, mash-tub. 36, water and ball-cock. 37, closet. 38, chimney in harness-room. 39, stairs to second story. 40, ventilators throtigh hay. 41, entrance doors. 42, sliding doors to carriage-room. 44, spnng doors, to keep horses ofl' the floor. 45, door of exit for unloaded teams, over a plank bridge, built on posts. CHAPTER LI. GREENHOUSE AND CONSEEVATOET. ' PRIL. Many days in April are so warm as to enable us to dispense with fire heat and to de- mand that every opening for fresh air should be made the most of. The plants are in a glorious condition in consequence of having been properly attended to during the winter, and the fragrance and beauty of the flowers, stir the most stolid heart. Continue to propagate by cuttings, etc., and also sow in pots and pans the seeds of annuals and perennials not yet started. Plant any roots of Auriculas and Ranunculuses, which you may have in thumb pots, ready to be transferred to the garden as the season advances ; set Tuberoses also in pots ; by giving them an early start you will get them into blossom in the garden before the autumn frosts can harm them. Bring the' Dahlia roots into the house and lay them under the stagings, where the warmth and moisture will stimulate the tubers a little and cause the buds to start, so that you may sooner cut them to pieces and get them ready either to plant in the open ground or to start in the hotbed. You may remove to the back side of the house and the cold frames those plants which are fairly out of blossom, and which you do not care to have grow much before next winter. Open the cold frames and pits, remove gradually all the dun"- linings and leaves, but retain the shutters. There will hardly be weather cold enough to require other protection than sashes and shutters. On every fair day let in light and air by removing the shutters early in the morning. The gradual admission of sun will 456 GREKNHOUSE AND CONSERVATORT. 457 • soon start the plants and we may expect by judicious manage- ment to get them a little forward for planting out. Water oc- casionally, as you see cause, and with tepid water ; but be careful not to get too much moisture in dark weather, as it may cause " damping off." Remove the sashes from the Daisies and Violets all day in mod- er^ite weather ; they will give you abundance of flowers throughout the month. Beds of Auricula and Ranunculus prepared in the fall will need constant attention ; Pansies too, whether in pots, in the frames, or in beds by themselves, should be well cared for ; give air and water ; late in the month they will be in full blossom. The manure removed from about the beds should be carted either to a pit into which it may be dumped, mixed with some loam, or to the barnyard. Having lain exposed to the weather all winter, it has lost most of its value ; and although a good fertilizer if dug in, it is not nearly so valuable as fresh manure ; but if returned to the yard or the cellar to absorb the urine of the cattle, its value will be restored ; or if leaves and loam are mixed with it, and the whole packed in a pit, by the fall it will have decomposed into a compost, fit for almost any purpose. Do not be alarmed if in spite of ventilation, the sun raises the temperature of the houses at mid-day to 90° or 100° ; only give plenty of moisture to the air by repeated syringings, and by setting evaporating pans on the flues. • Those who are not familiar with the spring and summer bloom of the flower-garden and shrubbery, should not delay making them- selves acquainted with it, as the season will soon be upon them and should not find them unprepared. The choicest plants and flowers may be readily grown in the garden, if a little care is taken to start them in the greenhouse and hotbeds. Repot any plants which seem to need it, and gradually remove all half-hardy plants out of blossom to the cold frames and pits, that Pelargoniums, Azaleas, Cinerarias, Fuchsias, etc., may have more room. We have occasionally very cold weather, even in April ; be on the watch for it, and do not let your houses be caught by it unpro- 39 458 APRIL. tected. By letting the canvas-cover down over the glass early in the afternoon of a warm day, you may enclose a great deal of the sun's heat, and save fires. It might be supposed that the house itself would afford consider- able protection against cold ; but a glasshouse radiates heat very rapidly, and the large amount of moisture in the air is in itself dangerous. This radiation may, however, be prevented by a very slight cover. At a time when in the outer air water will freeze hard and in the greenhouse all tender plants will die, a common canvas will entirely protect them from danger. Do not be tempted by any warm days to remove into the open air, for a permanency, any plants which have wintered in the houses ; the ground is still cold, and severe frosts are sure to come. Keep the plants that were purposely frozen up in the autumn, frozen as long as possible. Keep them on the north sides of the house, and try to prevent even the tops from thawing, and when you find that they are about to thaw, carry them into the shade, and do n6t let the sun shine on them for some days. By burying them in the earth, the frost may be gradually removed, and with less danger to the plants. CHAPTER LII. GRAPERY Continue the temperature in the forcing-house as last month, at 60° to 70° at night, 70° to 75° by day, in cloudy weather, 80° to 90° in sunshine ; admit all the air possible, and supply abundant moisture. Continue to thin. Before the end of the mohth, all the vines should have been thinned the first time, and some the second, and even the third time. Cut back the laterals above the bunches to one eye, and repeat the cutting as they start afresh, and' also cut out any shoots which make head between the bunches and the main cane, as they only abstract the food of the bunches, without corresponding benefit. The thinning process, after the first time, depends very much upon judgment ; the kind of vine, size of berry, earliness of ripening must all influence thinning. As the berries swell, the shoulders of the bunches should be supported by tying them to the cane or branches above. The vegetables in the forcing-house should be now fit for use, and the Strawberries for picking. The vines will soon cover all the glass with their leaves, and exclude the light so much that but few vegetables will thrive. The Mushrooms will be producing abundantly. Water with tepid water from time to time. Endive and the blanched vegetables do not need direct light, and will con- tinue to improve as yet. The retarding-house -must be kept, as cold as possible ; cover with canvas during sunshine, and let in all the air that is safe. No fire heat will be necessary in bright weather, but must be used if there should chance to come a very cold and cloudy interval. The vines in the cold grapery, on the contrary, need all the sun- light they can get ; give aeration through the ventilators, and some 459 460 APRIL. other air during bright weather. Follow the same degrees of tem- perature given for the first month of forcing-house. The diflSculty to be anticipated is that of keeping the temperature as uniform a-* by fire heat. The first of the month, if the manure spread on the borders in March was active, the vines will have swollen their buds considerably, and by the middle and last of the month will begin to break. Follow the forcing-house treatment exactly. The veg- et9,bles in the cold grapery will be thriving finely ; the abundant light, heat, and moisture will give sufiicient stimulation. From this time to the end of summer the work of the houses is no less pressing, but is to be taken in connection with the outside work, and there is great danger that it will be neglected. The fas- cination of the various out-of-door occupations tends to make the gardener forgetful. The houses should be syringed very often, on sunshiny days, and the thermometer and hygrometer carefully con- sulted, as too great heat and dryness on the tender foliage may do almost irreparable mischief. The grapevines outside the house, on espaliers, which were wrapped up in straw, should be examined towards the last of the month. Loosen their coverings, and fork into the border plenty of strong manure, which may give the roots an early start ; but take care not to injure the roots of the vines with the fork. The figs on the espaliers also should be examined, and receive some manure about the roots. Those which were laid down in the earth will not need any attention for the present. The espaliered fruit otherwise needs nothing, unless it be to examine the fastenings, and if any be found broken by winter, to repair them. In your examination, remove any eggs you may see glued to the twigs, and note carefully those shoots which seem likely to die the coming season, from frost-blight, and cut them out — from the Pears, Cherries, and Plums, before the sap gets into active circula- tion — from the Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots after the leaves have expanded a little. CHAPTER LHI. FLOWBK-GARDEN. The flower-garden begins again to assert its importance, and resumes its place in our interest. . The Snowdrops are all in blos- som, the earliest Crocuses show their heads, and we know that the other bulbs will soon follow. Here and there a last year's Pansy opens its eyes to the spring sunshine, whilst in sheltered spots in the shubbery, the Forsythia will soon be glowing with yellow flowers. The blossoming time of all plants varies a little with the season, but less than is usually supposed, and it is doubtful if the greatest variation amounts to ten days. "Sanguinaria and Rue anemone are the earliest wild flowers, and if planted in any of the beds or borders, will be in blossom almost as soon as the Snowdrop. Be- fore the month is old, the Snowdrops will be replaced by Crocuses, Daffodils, Narcissuses, and in the most favored situations, by the earliest Hyacinths. The litter should be carefully removed from all the beds, a little at a time, to harden the bulbs. If the garden was lefl in proper condition in the autumn, there will be need of but little spring cleaning. Rake up any dead leaves that may have blown in, and be ready by the flrst of May to begin real work. Make all your selections of seeds early, and decide how you will plant the beds, that when the time for planting comes, you need not be delayed. If you mean to employ others to advise and direct your work, see to it'now, when you can be sure of getting just such persons as you prefer, and when they are at liberty to devote * ample time to your service. If your garden is still a grass plot, or a ploughed field, have a plan made. Make it yourself if you can, as I have directed for the village garden ; if you cannot, employ some one to do it for you. 39* 461 462 APRIL. Some details with regard to the making of plans, I will give at an- other time. Overhaul the seeds that you have on hand, and all the garden ornaments, tools, etc., that were packed away in the autumn. You repaired them then, so now you have only to decide what you will add to your stock. If you have no greenhouse or hotbed, make a hotbed now. (For directions see pages 480.) Plant in the bed the seeds of all those annuals which blossom late in the summer and fall, and need to be hurried ; also, all those which you wish to have in succession. Seeds of annuals should be lightly covered with earth, more or less, according to their size. Some seeds, like those of the Ipomea, are enclosed in a horny shell, which prevents germination for a long time. All such seeds should be soaked in scalding water, for several hours, or a day, be- fore planting. When you purchase seeds, you can always learn of the seller whether any peculiar treatment is necessary. Towards the last of the month, set in the hotbeds Dahlias, Ma- deria vines. Gladiolus, and all other tubers to be blossomed in the garden ; the start thus given will insure a longer and more satis- factory bloom. Such manuals as Brack's Book of Flowers, Buist's Flower- Garden Directory, etc., give minute details on this subject, for which there is no room here, and I would rather induce you to seek out and read such books, than try to supply their place. Every year some new plants and flowers are produced for ad- miration, and some gardeners get the largest part of their profits from the sale of these novelties. I think it is well to try them as far as is consistent with economy, but by no means to the neglect of old and deserving favorites. It is with flowers as it is with trees, if you would be successful, you must have a large stock of patience. There will be innumer- able annoyances and disappointments, through the season, but care, ■ attention, and patience, will bring a bountiful reward in spite of them all. As the warm days come on, you will feel your enthusiasm kin- FLOWER-GAKDEN. 463 dling within you, and your imagination will give you delightful vis- ions of vegetables, flowers, and plants, in marvellous abundance, crowding every inch of your land. You will lay out magnificent plans, and set to work with eagerness, and at first, all will go well. It is very charming to get up early, on a bright spring morning, to dig and plant in the unwonted light of the dawning day, and with the delicious melody of the early birds filling the air ; and you will snatch a few minutes each evening from business, for your garden work, and as the shades of night shut down, and send you in from your employment, you will feel injured, and will wish that the fabled " curtain of night," were a real one, of which you had the string, which you would certainly keep drawn up. Reluctantly, and with many a backward glance at the smooth beds, dotted with stakes, so prophetic to your eye of future glories, you return to the house, where you descant in glowing terms, to your wife or friends, on the topic that absorbs your thoughts. Perhaps, in yoiir ardor, you plant several weeks too early, and those seeds that escape death from rotting in the ground, meet it from the frosty air. Still j-^ou are not discouraged, and replant with wonderful perseverance. So in spite of ups and downs, you work on through the spring months, while the weather is cool, and your whole frame retains the brac- ing effect of the winter. But the work thus begun, must be con- tinued with unabated zeal, through the heats of June and July, if you would not lose all your past labor, and see your hopes choked, by the fast growing weeds that lay concealed in the upturned clods, that looked so innocent when you planted them with seeds of your own choosing, little thinking of the unwelcome companions that had pre-occupied the ground. Do not, then, in your first spring enthusiasm, lay out too much work. Be contented to do less than you would, now, that you may not have to do more than you can'by and by In a flower-garden there is a great deal of beauty to be procured from grass and shrubs, and such flowers as need but little time and care ; and it is wiser fo plant the seeds of those flowers which you know will grow easily, and cover the ground, to the exclusion of weeds, than to try experim^ts in new and delicate varieties. To cover the ground, plant in masses such annuals as Mignon- 464 APKiL. ette, Sweet Alyssum, Gillia, Candytuft, Cacalia, Escholtzia, Gore- opsij, Portulacca, etc., and among them, in less profusion, set those that grow up straight, and occupy but little room, as Aster, GUly- flower, Zinia, Mourning Bride, Antirhinum, etc. A perfect flower-bed, in full growth, shows nothing but leaves and flowers ; from the turf to the top of the group there is an un- broken though varying surface, of difierent forms and colors, so fiarmonized and contrasted as to give constant delight to the eye. This result is best obtained by mingling various kinds of annuals with the bedding-out' plants, which having been started in the greenhouse or hotbed, are turned out of their pots and planted in the beds, and which constantly increase in blossoms and beauty, till cut off" by winter frosts. Plan your garden, then, with a view to its permanent improve- ment and advantage, and if your spring enthusiasm does not exhaust itself before the trying time comes to prove it, if your courage, prudently husbanded, continues through frosts and gloom, and the discouragement of weeds, and droughts, unabated, your spring visions will become a rich summer and autumn reality. There will be a long time in the spring when the flower-garden' is dependent on bulbs for its beauty, and even ■ after other flowers come forward, these bulbs, and their cousins-german, the tuberous rooted plants, continue to hold an important place. I will give a brief account of the best bulbs, and their culture. The careful and wise gardener always seeks first the best native plants, as they are more hardy, reliable, and easy of culture than foreigners. Three varieties of tuberous roots, but little cultivated, though of great beauty, are Ranunculus, Anemone, and Auricula. They are all natives of much milder climates than ours. The Auricula is of the same family with the English Cowslip and the comrhbn Polyanthus ; it is more tender than.the latter, and averse to both heat and cold, especially the former. It should be planted in cool, moist situations, away from the drippings from trees, shrubs, or buildings. It must be protected dux-ing the winter and early spring, but as it starts early in the season, the covering must be lightened and temoved as soon as possi- ble. FLOWER-GARDEN. 465 The Ranunculus is an Asiatic, of the Buttercup family ; our winters are too cold for it, and our summers too hot. To cultivate it aaccessfully in the open ground, make a deep, rich bed in the autumn, in a place sheltered from severe cold, and yet shaded from the midday sun of spring. As early as possible, in the spring, un- cover the bed and dig it over ; remove an inch or two of earth, and set the claw-like roots over the bed, six inches apart each way ; then cover with half an inch of soil. If the weather continues cold, cover with a moderate depth of litter, Pine-branches, or other shelter. As the plants grow, be sure they have enough water, but do not saturate them. The plant, after flowering, will soon ripen its roots, when the leaves will turn yellow. The tubers should be taken up, and laid away in a dry place, till the next spring or for winter forcing. The Anemone is of the same family, and is very beautiful. It is not so difficult of culture as the Ranunculus. Plant in rich, well-drained beds, in autumn, and cover with a garden-frame aiid litter. In the early spring replace the litter with sashes, and stimu- late to an early growth ; blossoms will appear in June. Many summer bulbs, not usually cultivated, may be started now in hotbeds or pots, set in protected places. The Tiger-flower is sin- gularly gorgeous, and is a very full bloomer. It will do well planted in the open ground in May. Snowdrops may be successfully moved, immediately after flow- ering, before the leaves di6 ; or as soon after as possible. There are many varieties of the Iris, or Flower-de-luce. Some of these are so common as to be quite despised*; others are much admired. The Iris Susiana blossoms early, and is dwarf; the roots need to be taken up in summer, and replanted in the fall. The Grand white Iris, large and showy, is I think very handsome, and not to be replaced by newer plants. So, too, with many of the rich blue and purple varieties. The number and variety of Lilies is very great. "White Lilies are to be planted in the early autumn, or they will not blossom the next year. They should be moved just before making their fall growth of leaves. The common Lilies are all easily grown. The Japan Lily is 466 APRIL. rare and beautiful, and needs as careful treatment as the Hyacinth. The bulbs need not be taken into the house in winter. It may be started in pots in the spring, and turned into the border in May. Two very beautiful Lilies are natives ; L. Superbum, and Cana- densis. These throw up tall stallis, surmounted by a crown of from three to seven flowers, very beautiful, and much, improved by cultivation ; they grow abundantly in the woods and fields. Peonies are very numerous ; their tubers should be transplanted in the autumn or early spring ; nearly all are hardy. The Tree Peony needs a little protection. The old red Peony, the ornament of every village garden, is very fine, and were it not so common, its splendid color would make it a favorite. The white, pink, variegated, and fragrant Peonies are the most generally cultivated, and if a good variety is selected, will be in blossom from May to the last of July, The Tree Peonies often grow to a great size, and a large plant full of blossoms is a beauti- ful sight. Tulips are too well known to need more than a mention ; direc- tions for forming beds were given in September. The Amaryllis is a beautiful summer-flowering Lily, and its . crimson flowers should be found in every garden. It is tender, and should be started early, to blossom to perfection ; although planted in May, it will blossom well and late. The Gladiolus family is numerous and beautiful, and blossoms for a long time. The Solomon's Seal is a beautiful plant, tuberous rooted, and a native. It may be taken from the woods, and with a few years culture will be much improved. The Fall Crocus should be planted in the spring. It blossoms with purple flowers in October, and is very pretty and desirable but rare. Dahlias are flowers very much admired, and are of various colors. New varieties are brought forward every season by their enthusiastic admirers. The best plants may be purchased by the dozen in the spring at a moderate price. They are tender, and must be taken up in the autumn after the frost comes. Directions have already been given. FLOWEE-GARDEN. 467 Another almost tuberous rooted plant, which has been a great favorite for the last few years, is the Dielytra. It is a native of this f ountry, and there are many varieties. D. eximia is the one generally grown in gardens. It grows rapidly, blossoms early and long ; the flowers are curious in form, beautiful in color, and grace- ful in arrangement ; the foliage is no less pleasing than the flowers. D. canadensis is a native of the woods, rather rare, easily culti- vated and very fragrant. D. cucuUata has white and yellow blos- soms, is small, and is native, improved by cultivation. Another plant of the same family which is very charming, is the Corydalis, aurea and glanca ; generally found about rocks, and easily grown from seeds. Adlumia cirrhosa is a perennnial of the same species. It is a very pretty vine, and should have a place in every garden. Fumitory, the last of this family of American plants, is an an- nual, rather pretty, and grows abundantly from the seeds. The Squill, — Scilla esculenta, — has a pretty blossom ; has a bulb like the Onion, and is sometimes eaten for it by the Indians. Planted in the Fall, it blossoms in May. " The Hemerocallis, or Day-Lily, may be planted in the autumn or spring, and is propagated by divisions of the roots ; it is a spe- cies of Funkia." The White Day-Lily is very beautiful ; it blossoms for about two months, and its flowers are very fragrant. The blue is a coarser, and less desirable flower, not fragrant. There are many other varieties. I have appended this list to my remarks on the necessity of having no more garden than can be well taken care of, that you may see the possibility of a great variety of flowers in a small space, most of which need but little looking after. These plants combined with bedding-out plants, and well-selected annuals, will give plenty of flowers from the middle of April to the last of Oc- tober. Refer to the flower-garden, August ; see beds L and P. The blossoms begin with Crocus and Snowdrops, followed by Hyacinths, Tulips, Nai-cissus, Daffodils, Polyanthus, Iris, Pansies, Squills, Dielytras, Lilies, Amaryllis, Gladiolus, Day-Lilies, Tiger Flow- 468 APKIL. ers, Tuberoses, Fall Crocuses, blended with Mignonette and Sweet Alyssum on the borders, after June ; with Gillia, Heliotrope, Creeping Lantana, Tall Lantana, Globe Amaranth Escho^zia. These two beds, well managed, will give at any time a large bunch of flowei-s, and from July to October, you can cut them in abundance. In planting d we have kept the tall bulbs at the back, placing the smaller ones in front. In P, the tall ones are in the middle of the large swells, and slope down to smaller on the edge ; and the same arrangement is made with the other plants. Mignonette, Sweet Alyssum, Gillia, and Creeping Lantana have gone from the front of the bed back to the middle, and among the other plants next to them and amongst them, are Verbenas ; inside in P, are HeliotrojDes and Lantanas, which are at the back of d. Cover the surface of the beds with a good dressing of fine guano, and rake it carefully with a fine-toothed narrow rake, the first of May, and then along the edge and as fast as we please, the seeds of the annuals are sown broadcast and thin, and then raked in. They soon come up and cover the decaying leaves of the bulbs, which as the leaves decay, may either be removed altogether, or only lose their dead leaves. The middle of May the other plants are care- fully set, and by attention the change is prevented from being dis- agreeable. I do not mean that there will be no time without flowers, as it is impossible to make the gradation unbroken, but the nakedness need not be long apparent The* seeds of the annuals should be sown early ; the guano will stimulate a quick and vigorous growth. When the pot plants are set out, remember that they have been accustomed to abundant heat and moisture, and that you transplant them to the cold, open ground often' covered for days together with cold and dark clouds, and watered only with cold water. If you want quick growth, put under and around each, as far as the ball of earth will allow, a quantity of steaming horse manure, and water for some days with quite warm water ; but do not manure and neglect to water, as the manure will dry up to the great injury of the plant. If such care is taken, your bed will be a wonder to careless cultivators for the next six months. FLOWER-GABDEN. 469 _ Let me repeat some remarks that I made in September. The good gardener will never be in his garden without strings, knife and sticks, and will always be ready to cut down dead stalks and leaves, and fie up drooping or top heavy plants. Patience, neatness, and order are your watchwords, and should be inscribed over the entrance to your garden. 40 CHAPTER LIV. ORCHARD. If the ground was not well thawed last month, begin now, as soon as it opens, to dig in manure in the orchard, together with the proportion of the salt and lime mixture described in the fall. Wood ashes, potash, soda, or lime, spread over the surface of the orchard, ai'e very beneficial to the trees : they all seem in their caustic state, to kill the eggs and larvsB of insects, and are also of direct use to the trees. No vegetable physiologist has yet determined why it is that salts (lime, soda, potash, etc.) are of use to vegetation ; they (particularly potash and soda) are found in great quantities in all vegetable tissues, and seem essential to their development. Land destitute of these salts, is sterile, and can be induced to bear crops only by application of some of them as manure. At times they are most powerful aids to vegetation ; -some crops are more dependent on them than others, as for instance, Clover. White Clover may be brought up on any land where no White Clover seed has been sown, and the plant not seen for years, by dressing it with wood ashes, or potash. Red Clover may be grown on land previously unable to bear it, by a liberal dressing of sulphate of lime. Leaves and bark of trees are full of these salts, and it is from the ashes of burned wood and leaves, that the potash and soda are obtained. These few facts establish conclusively, their importance to vegeta- tion, but how they contribute to its welfare, is a mystery. These salts are generally found in the tissues of plants, in a crys- talized form, and deposited in the cells as foreign matter, not con- tributing at all to the composition of the woody and cellular tissue, which is called vegetable matter. Some of them are found in much greater excess than others ; fruit trees when burned, give in their ash a great amount of potash, less soda, and but little lime. Yet it is the application of lime to the soil which stimulates the trees, and 470 ORCHARD. 471 enables them to assimilate the potash and soda they need. I shall not enter into chemical details, but simply say that the lime enters into combination with the particles of the soil, and, by chemical in- terchange, the potash, or soda, is set free, and its place is taken by a corresponding amount of lime. The salts, thus set free, are dis- solved by water, absorbed by the plants, and found in their tissues. Therefore, you will be almost certain of benefiting your trees by giving them a liberal dressing of lime. When the orchard is dug over and pruned, see that the fences about it are in good order, that no animal may get in and browse the young twigs. Though it is spring, and long before the time when baskets, lad- ders, and hooks are wanted, use some wet day of leisure to look over these implements, and repair damages. By doing this now, you will remember all summer what your deficiencies are, and be on the watch to repair them. By the last of this month, the caterpillars will begin to build their nests. The webs will be seen — very small, at first — in the forks of the twigs, and smaller branches. Provide yourself with a caterpillar brush, or a bit of sponge ; fasten it to a long, light fish- ing rod ; get a few pounds of crude potash, and a butter firkin ; nail a strip of wood across the top of the firkin, for a handle ; put into it a pound of potash to a gaflon of water. In the early morning, the caterpillars are all in the nests ; they rarely start out for food before the sun is a few hours high. Go through the orchard with your brush and bucket, and wherever you see any sign of a nest, dip the brush, or sponge, into the firkin, and sop it on to the nest, rubbing it round the fork of the branch. The Wire caterpillar brush is used without potash with the idea that the stiff wires will crush and destroy all the worms, but the alkali water is more effective ; it will bum up not only the worms, but the unhatched eggs. More effectual than either, where the nest is ac- cessable, is a more disagreeable, and I might almost say disgusting, process ; cover the hand with a stout buckskin glove, and rub the nest and its inhabitants into a paste ; you will thus insure the total destruction of the insects and eggs. . This work will consume a deal of time during the last of April, 472 APKIL. and the month of May. There are at least three broods of worms, all of which must be cut off, if you would have trees with perfect leaves, and a full crop of fruit. The lazy man, who neglects this work, or the man who thinks he cannot afford it, are equally fool- ish, and will surely find that their neglect not only permanently injures the trees, but destroys the fruit for the ensuing year. Careful watching, and washing for a few years, will materially reduce the number of worms. Some, however, will escape and lay their eggs, unless they are removed by another insect destroyer, the birds. That farmer who allows any one to kill the birds about his place, because they eat his Cherries, Strawberries, and Peas, " saves at the spigot to lose at the bung." Only a fevy days ago I read a communication, in one of our agricultural papers, favoring the de- struction of birds, on the ground that they not only eat fruit when ripe, but at other seasons eat the seeds of Red Cedar, Blackberry, etc., which are voided afterwards, undigested, about their roosting- places, in pastures, etc., where they take root and spring up, to choke the pasture, and annoy man and beast. Before calculating the benefit, let us look into the mischief done by birds. Suppose we had 100 acres of pasture-land (enough to ruin us !) entirely free from Cedar, Bramble, and other plants whose seeds are food for birds. The birds begin to resort thither, and sow the seeds of fruit eaten elsewhere. Suppose that in one season they thoroughly sow an acre with troublesome plants, — though the supposition is absurd, — they will not germinate till the following spring, or become perceptible until the second year. In the spring of this year a man with a sharp bush scythe will cut over and virtually destroy every plant in a day or two ; — cost $2 ! But all the birds on the 100 acres will not sow so much. What are the benefits ? First consider the amount of land nearly or quite worthless for pasture, which birds plant, as with Red Cedar, the most valua- ble tree in New England for post-and-rail fences, a tree which might be cultivated with profit. Hedgerows and old stone walls are thus sowed with Cedar and Blackberry, and as one rides through the country he may see them on all sides, not in the middle of the ORCHARD. 473 fields, but along the edges, where as they grow large they give shade to the cattle, timber to use, fruit to preserve. Were there no other benefit from the birds, this would compensate' for the cost of cutting down brush. For the fruit eaten, the beauty and song of birds more than compensates. But how immense a balance is left. Careful experiments have shown that every robin consumes, during the summer, 15 lbs. of worms. A robin, fed for experiment, consumed, on an average, beside bread-crumbs, bits of beef, gravel, and water, 20 dwts. oi. worms a day. If the birds were wild, the beef and bread-crumbs would be replaced by seeds and earthworms, by caterpillars, canker- worms, larvse of various kinds. And at liberty, the consumption would of course, be greater than in confinement ; but at 20 dwts. a day during the six months when robins frequent cultivated land, one of them would ea.t fifteen lbs. (Troy weight) of worms. Think of that every farmer and gardener who complains of the robin, or of any bird, for all eat in proportion ! The thousand birds which sur- i"ound your farm and homestead during the year, welcoming morn- ing and evening with their songs, eat 15,000 lbs. of worms. How many canker-worms, caterpillars, spiders, etc., would go to make up that amount ? It is nothing less tha,n insanity to prevent such destruction of vermin, because it involves a little labor with a scythe, to mow the bushes or brambles they have sowed, or the loss of a few quarts of Cherries. Even the common crow is useful in the same way. It is not to be denied that he pulls up a great deal of Corn, and gives a great deal of trouble, but he does it not for mischief, but in his efibrts to assist the farmer. Every one knows the injury done to Corn, and other crops, by the wire or cut-worm ; many specifics are recommended, all of some service ; it is in the pursuit of these grubs that crows and blackbirds pull up the young plants, at whose roots instinct teaches them that their prey lies ; and it will be found that the fields most haunted by crows, are most infested by the worm. I mention this to show the real habits of the crow, not to prove that we may not lose more by their hunting after the worms, than by the ravages of the worm if left unhurt. Robins, crows, and blackbirds are not the only consumers of worms. A distinguished American naturalist told me that one 40* 474 APRIL. morning he saw several branches of a favorite tree overrun by many hundreds of the coarse, hairy, black and red caterpillars often seen on willows. He was on the point of going out to remove them, when he saw a male catbird light among and begin to eat them, occasionally flying away with some for its young. The bird continued this all day. By the same hour on the next day there were no caterpillars to be seen on the tree ; the bird had cleared it.* So of other birds ; and the millions of pounds of worms eaten by birds, would, if unconsumed, devour every green thing. So long as a country is covered with forest, these insect nuisances are i-are, and so are birds ; as the land is brought under cultivation the insects increase, and the birds with them. So ready is nature to provide for the wants of civilized life. You rarely see many birds in the deep woods ; they are about the homestead and hedgerows, and the murderous guns of idle men and boys do incalculable mis- chief to farmers and horticulturists. The last work in the orchard for this month is grafting, which may be done through all the month of May. * Kev. Thos. Hill, Waltliam, Mass. CHAPTER LV. KITCHEN-GAEDEN. The work of the kitchen-garden begins now in good earnest, and from this time till winter will keep the gardener busy. The hotbeds and cold frames require constant attention. Dig over all the open ground, particularly that which was manured last fall with strong manure. You will find it pretty well rotted. Any that remains undecomposed must be shaken to pieces, and thoroughly mixed with the earth. Make beds for Radishes in the warmest exposures. If your gar- den is protected by a fence, sow early, otherwise defer sowing till late in the month. Among the radishes set Lettuce plants and early Cabbages, from the cold frames and hotbeds, as soon as the weather permits and the plants are ready for removal. Sow Peas in warm exposures very early, as they will not be in- jured hj frost. Make ridges for early Potatoes, as described last month. Prick out Cabbage plants for the cold frames as soon as you find settled weather. Choice heads of Lettuce, Cabbage, and similar vegetables, may be covered at night with the boxes already described. But the great occupation for this month will be with the hotbeds and digging the ground. Make out a list of the seeds you want, and the quantity of ea^ch, the first of the month, and buy early while the assortments at the stores are large and various. Melon seeds are said to be much improved by age, and by being carried for some weeks in a body-pocket, before planting. It has never been stated what the advantage of this practice is, but general opinion pro- nounces in its favor, and there is, therefore, probably some benefit in it. Few things puzzle amateurs more than the arrangement of good lists of seeds, in kinds and quantity. It is equally trouble- some and unprofitable to have too much or too little, and the for- 475 476 APRIL. mer er]:or is very common for fear of the latter. Some kinds of seed each gardener does better to grow for himself, but in most cases it is best to buy, if he can be sure of the quality, as by gel> ting seed grown on different soil from his own, he secures some- thing of the benefit of rotation of crops. It is undeniable, that seed grown year after year deteriorates, even with the best care and selection. Judicious selection has as much to do With the im- provement of seed as any thing else. For instance, a Wheat grower wishes the earliest kind, the largest head, with the greatest number of kernels and most plumpness, and a stiff and not super- abundant straw. If his Wheat is such as he likes, he goes through his fields in July, and finds some heads, perhaps only one,~much earlier ripe than the rest ; some superior in plumpness or other respects. Perhaps one head unites all these good qualities. He marks it, and, when it is ripe, cuts and saves it. He will manure and dig well a little spot and sow these seeds early, so that the plants shall be well grown before winter. The next year he will keep these plants well weeded, and will certainly get several heads much better, in all respects, than the rest. These he will gather and sow. The next year he will get not less than 100 heads, which will give him 2,500 plants for the fourth year. At the least calculation, he will find among these 3,000 perfect heads, bearing, many thousand perfect kernels, " allowing 63 pounds to the bushel, for wheat, 86 grains will weigh a dram, or, at any rate, 87 ; the bushel will then contain 701,568 grains." * Our cultivator will have obtained at least one-tenth of a bushel of a new and improved variety of seed, and another year's cai'e will give him three bushels better still, and of course he may con- tinue the improvement as long as he pleases. The same care will produce the same result of course with any kind of seed, and every cultivator should make a point of improving one or two kinds ; not many, as it takes too much time and trouble. How- ever, the experiment, as I have stated it, is far more elaborate than will be found necessary in practice. Let me quote two accounts. "B. King, January 22, 1841, Sussex, England. Planted 3 * Stephen's Book of the Farm, p. 438. KITCHEN-GARDEN. 477 grains of Wheat, 1 grain, the shoots of which were divided from each other and transplanted twice, yielded, in 1842, 3 pounds, 12f ounces of grain. The third grain was divided three times, and yielded 7 pounds 15^ ounces. The number of roots from this grain was 173 ; of ears, 3,272 ; of grains, 97,028. Half an ounce contained 382 grains. This, according to the Horsham experi- ment, was enough, the second year, to plant two-thirds of an acre." "Mr. Jones, of Cambridgeshire, in 1838, got from 30 grains of Wheat 14| ounces ; in 1839, 14| ounces sowed, gave 1;^ bushels ; in 1840, 1;^ bushels sowed, gave 45 bushels; in 1841, 45 bushels sowed, gafre 539 bushels." In improving seed, only one species of any family should be cultivated in the same near neighborhood, because of the tendency of plants in the same family to mix seeds. Remember that the earliest healthily ripened fruit gives seed which will next year produce fruit still earlier ; and a wise gardener, if he depends up- on his own seed, will keep his earliest fruit for that purpose rather than sell it, even at an extra price. But, as I said, land gets tired of growing the same seed, year after year ; so that the farmer often finds it for his advantage to buy seed from a neighbor. As it is troublesome to select seed and estimate the quantity re- quired, I will give the calculation for a garden of an acre, made by a distinguished cultivator. Some plants which we usually grow are omitted, and some uncommon sorts added. And it must be observed that the amount of seed for an acre is not to be multi- plied by 20 to obtain the amount of seed for 20 acres ; because, in a small garden, allowance must be made for the inferior plants, which are cast aside when seedlings are pricked out ; whereas, in cultivation on a larger scale, no such transplanting is done, but ■ good plants and poor are allowed to grow together. " The list I give is for succession crops, and but one single plant- ing for one acre : — Peas, Beans, 36 quarts. 10 French or Kidney Scarlet Runners, Beans, 4 quarts. 2 Early Cabbage, Savory, Brussels Sprouts, 8 ounces. 3 Parsnips, Salsify, Skerrit, 4 ounces. 2 2 478 APKIL. Cauliflowers, Varieties of Broccoli Borecoles, " Red Cabbage, Drumheads, Kohl Rabi, Onions, Carrots, White Turnips, Yellow Turnips, Celery, Spinach, Red Beets, Yellow Beets, Leeks, 4 ounces. Endive, 4 ounces. 8 " Lettuce, 4 " 4 " Radish, 3 pints. 2 " (if none were forced.) 2 " Mustard, 1 1-2 quarts. 2 " Cress, 1 1-2 " 12 " (if neither are forced.) 8 " Parsley, 4 ounces, 16 " 2 curled, 2 plain. 6 ' " Early Potatoes, 1 1-2 bushels. 2 ■" Late " 3 8 quarts. Jerusalem Artichokes, 1 peck. 4 ounces. Garlic *8 ounces. 2 " Shallots, 2 pounds. 4 ounces. Add to the above 2 drams of long green Cucumber, 2 drams of short, prickly Cucumber, 2 drams of best Muskmelons, 1 ounce of Watermelon, 4 drams of best Cantelope melon, 2 drams of Summer Squash, 2 ounce of Marrow Squash, 2 ounce of Crook- neck, 4 quarts of Stowell's Evergreen Corn, 2 drams of Tomato, 1 quart of Black Beans, and other seeds in like proportions. Your list made out, your seed purchased, you are ready to plant at the earliest date, and you must plant early and late in order to have Buccession crops. Do not imagine that because the seed is provided in ample quan- tities, that thick sowing is advocated ; thin .sowing is almost always better, in order to give room for the young plants to expand their leaves and roots. Never buy cheap seeds. The best seeds are worth the best price, and no cultivator can afford any other. For if the seed is bad, all the expense and labor of ploughing, manuring, sowing and cultivating are lost. Cheap seeds are refuse or damaged, or else of some worthless variety. The importance of absolutely pure seed cannot be over estimated. We talk of the number of weed seeds in the soil ; we sow more every year, than we imagine. Prof. Buckman, of England, in some late investigations, found that " in a pint of Clover seeds there were 7,000 weed seeds; in a pint of Grass seeds 12,600 weed seeds ; in a pint of Broad Clover 39,440 weed seeds j and 2 pints KITCHEN-GAEDEN. 479 of Scotch Cldver yielded severally 25,560 and 70,400." All other seeds are similar, and the number of weed seeds in Grass seed, Red-top, Herd's Grass, etc., if enumerated, would horrify the most slovenly farmer. Some seeds are those of parasites, as the Orobanche and Dodder. These are exceedingly minute, and adhere to the seeds of the plants to which they are parasites, so closely as almost to be invisible to the naked eye, and can only be removed by strong pickles. Rust and other similar diseases in grain, are parasitical fungi, and adhere to the seed. Some kinds of seed, to be relied upon, must be fresh when used, as Carrots ; others, like Turnips, are better for keeping a year or two, particularly if good seed of different years is mixed. Be- fore sowing, provide yourself with some guano, or super phos- phate of lime, as a top dressing ; these manures raked into the sur- face, will stimulate the young plants into very rapid growth, and will drive plants of the Cabbage family, out of danger of the fly. These plants are very apt to be eaten by a small fly, when in th^ir cotyledon state, but are out of danger just as soon as the rough leaves are formed, which are the second pair. Squashes and Mel- ons also, are very much eaten by bugs and worms, when young ; they are aided by guano. So also, throughout the season, any plants which are slack in growth, or which you are desirous of hastening, may be hurried by a top dressing of guano raked in, or by digging it in round the roots, or by giving it as a liquid manure. The tools absolutely necessary to a kitchen-garden, however small, are a spade, shovel, hoe, iron-toothed rake, trowel, lifting and manure forks, dibble, wheelbarrow, garden line, watering pot, trans- planting tray, or basket. All these tools should have their separate places, and be returned thither every night. The better class of gardens will need in addition, an edging knife, wooden rake, long-handled shovel, pruning knife, hand-saw, hatchet, long-handled pruner to reach to the topmost boughs of trees, some boxes with glass tops to protect the early plants, some square frames without bottoms, and with tops covered with mos- quito netting, which, set over young Melons, etc., will keep off bugs 480 APKii.. and flies, hotbed frames, cold-pit frames, Sea-kale, Cardoon, and Cauliflower pots and glasses, syringe, wheel hoe. Provide yourself with a good supply of the best tools, as they will be found much the cheapest in use ; and take good care of them, which is the surest way of keeping them a long time. Towards the last of the month, you will need to look after the early nests of caterpillars. Hotbeds. — I have not given a day's treatment of the hotbed, but will do so now. In the early morning, as soon as the sun strikes the beds, remove the mats or shutters, if the day is reason- ably mild. Visit the beds about 9 a.m. ; if it is bright and the thermometer is rising towards or above 80°, raise the sashes a little ; during the forenoon give more air as the bed heats. About the middle of the afternoon, begin to water; use slightly warmed water. Water poured into the beds at this time will soak into them and nourish the plants much more than if applied earlier. As soon as the watering is over, close the sashes, and when the sun gets off the bed, cover for the night. Keep the temperature of the bed constantly high, but with a moderate degree of moist- ure. Hotbed plants should never want moisture, but never be surfeited ; too much dampness in cloudy weather will produce mildew and decay. To be successful with the beds, there is need of great watchfulness ; as the plants increase in size, admit air as freely as is consistent with their growth, to harden them. CHAPTER LVI. THE FARM. Farming begins in good earnest in April. Soon the cattle will be turned out to pasture ; every day you may let them out into the yardj and there will be no harm in occasionally letting the young and the dry cattle scamper for an hour or two over the pastures ; the fresh air and exercise will be of service. You will do well to give each of your men Ms own tools, a hoe, spade, shovel, scythe, rake, etc. ; give it him in good order, and charge it to him; if he breaks or loses it, deduct its value from his wages, and give him another, but let each man keep and use his own tools, and never borrow. Thus much annoyance and dispute will be avoided. This year's work is pointed out in our rotation. Field No. 1, Pasture not so good as last year, and to be ploughed up in July, and sowed with Flat Turnips. ^ Field No. 2 is to have 1 acre Ruta-Baga Turnips, 1 acre Man- gold Wurzel, f acre Carrots, ^ acre Parsnips, 2 acres Potatoes, to be planted in August with Wheat and White Turnips, sowed in drills or broadcast. Field No. 3, 2 acres in Winter Wheat and Grass, on which sow 12 lbs.' Red, 4 lbs. White, 4 lbs. Yellow Clover; 300 lbs. of plaster, mixed with 150 of guano. Field No. 3 will also have 3 acres in Spring Rye and Grass, or you may instead grow a fodder crop of Sweet Corn or Oats, to be cut in the milk. Sow Millet in July. No. 4, Grass, to be cut twice, or pastured on aftermath. The first orchard, which has been growing 20 years, was planted last fall with Rye and Clover. The Rye is to be cut for fodder, and the Clover fed down by pigs when it comes up. Orchard No. 2, 15 years old, is to be planted with fodder Com 41 481 482 APRIL. in succession, in rows well manured, and wlien cut to be followed with flat Turnips, or Rye and Clover, in the same strips for next year's fodder. So orchard No. 3, 5 years old. The Pear and Peach orchard is not to be cropped at all, but to be mulched. The water of irrigation is not to be applied to any lands which are to be tilled, with exceptions already noted, but to grass and grain lands, while the crops are in the growing stage. If March was too frosty to allow you to spread over the grass land the manure which was carted out last fall, spread it now. This should be done as soon as the frost leaves the ground, in order that the spring rains may wash it into the earth at once. The grass land will be too soft to cart over with comfort, and if the piles of manure were properly placed last fall, there will be no need of any thing but a pair of stout arms and a wheelbarrow. Sow at the same time Clover seed over the land laid down to grass last fall, at the rate of, at least, 15 lbs. per acre, as just de- scribed. It is recommended that' this seed be sown on the last snow, in order that it may be readily carried down into the soil as the snow melts, and thus be evenly distributed. This is a good plan when snow«comes in April, as is often the case, and the seed is probably more equally distributed than by sowing on the sod, and leaving it to the rain ; but to sow when the ground is still hard frozen, is to waste much seed. Now is the tune to sow guano and super-phosphate, as a top- dressing. The amount of Clover seed, per acre, sowed at this season, is 10 to 20 lbs. The quantity pf seed should vary with the soil, and with the other seed sown. I have frequently directed you to sow all crops thinly ; but this does not apply to grass seed ; the amount of these to the acre should be Uberal, as much is eaten by birds and insects, some is poor, and when it germinates it is very desira- ble that it should come up thick ; the coarse parts are thus ren- dered sweeter and more pliable, and the hay is eaten by the stock with greater relish. When the seed and guano is all sowed, or the manure spread, THE FARM. 483 roll all the grass land and grain fields carefully, to consolidate the surface, and press into the ground, out of the way of the scythe or • mowing-machine, any stones or roots which may have been heaved above the surface by frost. The first farm work will be preparing land for spring Grain. Reference to the scheme of our 6 years' rotation will show that there is always some spring Grain which is sowed with Grass to follow Roots. "With the exception of early Potatoes, Roots ,arc never ofi^ the ground in season to allow the sowing of winter Grain ; therefore it is always desirable to divide the land for Roots — one portion to be planted with early Potatoes, the other with Turnips, etc. The spring Grain will vary according to locality. In the West- em States Winter Wheat has been nearly abandoned, because it has been so much more severely injured by insects than Spring Wheat. Where this is the cas.e, the farmer may grow upon his fallows such Roots as he pleases, the land not being wanted for Grain till spring. With us in New England, Spring Rye, Oats, and Barley are the usual crops. Spring Rye has in some localities been de- stroyed, by the rust and blight. Wherever such diseases prevail, Oats or Barley must be sowed. They will thrive on much poorer soil than Wheat, and Rye is considered a Grain for poor soils, and is grown year after year, upon land which does not yield crop enough to fairly pay for the labor. But, in truth, no Grain crop is adapted to poor soil ; no poor land should be tolerated ; the kind of Grain to be grown in any field should be decided by the nature, and not by the quality of the soil. Rye thrives well . in loamy and dry gravelly soils ; not so :well on sandy land, though it will yield a fair crop in any fertile soil, but in rich loam it runs to straw. Oats are adapted to sandy clay; light loqm, and good gravel. Bar- ley thrives best in a hazel loam, or on good sandy land, and yields good crops on well drained and w^orked clay, but under any cir- cumstances needs a well-drained soil. Wheat should be reserved for rich loam or loamy clay ; clay of any kind yields good Wheat, if well drained and tilled, but these processes must be thoroughly done ; and, indeed, we may say the same of the treatment of the soil for any Grain crop. Occasionally farmers sow land down to Grass with Indian Corn, or 484 APRIL. Squashes. Each of the various methods for getting land into Grass has its advocates, and each is best, under certain circumstances. The following is the method for sowing land with Spring "Wheat," to be followed next year by Grass. Plough thoroughly, but not before the land is dry enough to break to pieces under the har- row ; plough at least 9 inches deep, and as much more as is I)ossible. As soon as this is done, if the seed is to be broadcasted, ,-ow 200 lbs. of guano, mixed with 200 lbs. of plaster, and double I he bulk of good loam, peat, or charcoal to the acre ; harrow care- fully, and remove all large stones, stalks, and weeds. Pickle the seed, and sow 1^ to 2 bushels to the acre. This is much more than for fall sowing, as the seed will have no time to tiller, and only those stalks will bear seed which vegetate early, and thrive. Fol- low the Grain with Grass seed, and then give a single light har- rowing, followed by the roller, which will leave the seed pressed into the soil, and the soil compact about it. A firm and compact soil is especially important to the Wheat plant, the light crops which it bears on sand and sandy loam being chiefly due to the lightness of these soils. The field will need no other care than occasional weeding, till harvest. The benefit of the guano sown in the spring is manifold. It gives the seed aft early growth, and drives it forward when rains are frequent, and it increases the yield iu direct proportion to the amount applied. A cwt. of guano will invariably give • double or treble its cost in extra crop. "When Grass seed is to' be sowed with the Wheat, follow the seed-wheat with at least. Red-top, 1 to 2 bushels. Herd's Grass, ^ bushel, Clover 12 pounds. It is useless and slovenly to draw a brush-harrow over the surface when the land is friable and in good condition, and the seed evenly spread. Grass seeds are much more economically and evenly sowed in the broad- oast seed-sower than by hand, and although we do not care to spare our seed, having seen the advantage of its being in excess the evenness of distribution is of great consequence to the crop. The use of Wheat as a spring grain will be determined by the latitude. In some parts of our country Wheat will not ripen its seed unless sown in the fall, because it has then this advantage : It THE FABM. d8& take root and send up a seed stem of iheir own), and covers the ground before winter with a thick sward. In the spring, before 'the land is fairly thawed, the plants feel the sun and begin to make new roots, slowly but surely, as the frost comes out, and before the land could be ploughed and sowed the new roots are well formed, and the plants ready to grow. If you select Spring Rye or Oats as the grain, the treatment will be similar in all respects. Eye is sometimes saved from the rust by a pickle. The exact benefit derived from this pickling has never been determined, but it is certain that fields have been saved by pickling the seed, while adjoining fields, with unpickled seed, have suffered. For both Wheat and Rye various pickles are recom- mended. One method is to fill a tub with weak urine, or other ammoniacal liquid, pour in the seed and immediately take it out, and set it in a sieve to drain ; then mix it with caustic lime, or Plaster of Paris, or wood ashes, in suflBcient quantity to dry it. To ensure the seed's being covered, roll the mixture in a barrel, or shovel it over repeatedly. In this way the seeds will be prevented from sticking together.* I give a drawing of a drill for sowing seed. The seed and special manure are put into the boxes, and are sowed at the same time, securing a more even deposition of both than is possible in hand sowing. Use 1 bushel per acre. The saving of seed is con- siderable, and at the same time you are sure that all the seeds are deposited at a uni- form depth, which is of very great impor- tance. Careful tri^s have shown a consia- erable loss or a gain as the seeds were sowed too deep, too near the surface, or at the proper depth. It has been * Other pickles are salt and water, blue vitriol dissolved in water, arsenic, but this last is dangerous. In the place of the lime, in which I directed you to roll the seed, powdered charcoal, or any dry, antiseptic dust, may be used. 41* 486 APRIL. calculated by Stephens, that in a crop of 64 bushels to the acre, there is a loss of 33 per cent of the seed when sowed broad- cast, of 40 per cent in a crop of 58 bushels to tJie acre. The* proper depth is between 1 and 2 inches — not less- than 1 and not more than 2. Spring Rye sown broadcast demands 1^ to 2 bushels, in the drill | to 1 bushel, per acre. The straw of Rye is very much more valuable than any other, owing to its length and stiffness. Oats are never sown in the fall, but always in the spring. Sow 3 to 4 bushels to the acre, broadcast. It is not so often drilled in as the other Grains, but gains as much by the process as any other. One to two bushels to the acre is enough when a drill is used. The peculiar roots of the oat collect the earth on which they grow into nodules, and the land needs rather more than usual cultivation to reduce it to fine tilth after oats. Barley sowed like the preceding, requires 2 or 3 bushels to the acre, or 1 in drill. Sow it later than the other grains, but as early as the first of May. Do not roll it unless the land be very light. It may be pickled to advantage. The use of steeps, or pickles, for grain, is asserted to have another value than protection, if the steep is well made. A large number of careful and instructive experi- ments were tried in this direction by several English and Scotch agriculturists. The seed was analyzed a sufficient number of times to settle definitely its important constituents, and then these constituents were procured in a soluble form, were dissolved in water, and the seed soaked in the liquid until enough was absorbed, in the judgment of the experimenters, to thoroughly manure a given acreage upon which the seed was to be sowed. In the ma- jority of cases the seed so prepared, and the field thus manured, gave large and satisfactory crops, demonstrating to the experimenters the truth of the theory upon which they had Scted. But in other cases the experiment proved an entire failure, either because the theory was incorrect or the experiments badly tried. The inventor of this method patented it, and sold preparations for different crops. Undoubtedly there is a good deal in the idea, and I recom- mend every farmer to try the experiment.* All the Grain .crops * See pp. 155, etc., of Highland Society's Prize Essays for 1845. THE FAKM. 487 are much benefited by weeding. Particular care should be taken to ensure that there are no seeds of mustard or other weeds among your seed-grain. It should be thoroughly examined, and, if need be, winnowed several times before sowing. Land is in fine condition for all these Grains, after a crop of well-manured Roots, which leave it in the spring light and friable. If the field can be ploughed directly after removing the Roots in the fall and not harrowed, it will be in still better case, and may if necessary, be sowed in the spring without a new ploughing, only breaking down the furrows with a heavy harrow or cultivator. No Grain should be manured with barnyard manure, as it is too coarse and rank to be easily appropriated by the roots of Grain, which having to elaborate in a few months a highly concentrated seed, needs to find its food in a well-rotted condition in which it is easily assimilated. It has always been laid down as a principle, that no Grain ex- cept Oats should be sown on a lea or old sod. "Wheat does best after Clover, the sward being broken up in the spring or early sum- mer, and summer-fallowed, ploughed once or twice and sowed in the fall. The Clover tops and roots thus ploughed in, very soon ferment and decay, and give the Wheat just the food it wants. Some of our Western farmers prefer a Timothy sward to any other preparation for Wheat. Whoever uses the Michigan plough may sow upon the sod just as readUy as on stubble or fallow. This plough is shown in the cut. It is double. The front plough cuts the sod in a ribbon, and rolls it under where it is covered with mould to the depth of two or three inches by the large plough which follows. All lea land is more infested with wire and cut worms than fal- low or stubble, and is in that way objectionable ; but with this ex- ception there is no sort of reason why the sod should not be used for winter or spring Grain. By adopting this practice, a diflferent rotation may be followed, which is better than the one previously laid down under some circumstances. WeU-buried sod is excellent food for Grain, if it is the sward of well-enriched land, it is easily decomposed, and yet firm for the early growth of the plants. Oats 488 APKIL. grasp the earth and consolidate a foothold better than any other Grain, all of which need a well-rolled soil. Indian Corn is sometimes used to get land into Grass. It differs from all other Grains in being a hoed crop, and is used very often in the place of Roots, or to follow them on land which will bear two white crops in the rotation. It is sown by the corn-planter or by hand in rows. Different distances are prescribed according to the size of the Corn, straw, or tops, and the traditions of the district ; 3 feet each way from hill to hill is about right ; the seed should be set IJ to 2 inches deep, 4 or 5 grains to the hill, 9 to 12 quarts to the acre. For this Grain, either barnyard or special manure may be used either broadcast or in the hill ; both methods have their warm advocates. On good land I advise broadcasting the manure before ploughing, and then sowing with the seed some artificial manure in the hill, which is as good as any other manure in the hill to give the Corn an early start, and will hold out long enough to establish the plants so that they can send their roots abroad for the other manure. The time for sowing Corn is from the middle of May to the middle of June. Different varieties of seed obtain in different parfe of the country. The Canada Corn may be sowed later than any other, as it ripens earlier, needing but 90 days ; other and larger varieties need more time. It is a question whether THE FAEJI. 489 the Canada Corn will not yield as many pounds per acre as any other ; it is smaller, may be sowed closer in both row and hill, and with more grains to the hill. I should not speak of this grain now out of season as it is, were it not in connection with sowing land to Grass. Cultivate the Corn jlaJt. As soon as the Corn is high enough to show the rows distinctly, go over the field and shake a teacupful of ashes over each hill ; then send a horse-plough through the rows each way, to furrow, deepen, and loosen the soil ; follow this with the hoe, and carefully cut off, or pull up every weed. Do not content yourself with covering them with earth. Such a course is slovenly, and 8hort-sighted ; the weeds will soon come up again through the earth. After one good hoeing there need be no other general hoe- ing. As soon as weeds show again in the rows, send a horse-hoe, or cultivator, through each way, once or twice, enough to break up the surface soil thoroughly, and kill the young weeds, but never plough a second time, as the plough runs deep enough to break the young roots of the Corn. Cultivate or horse-hoe as often as is necessary, till the Corn becomes too large for the horse to go through the rows. If you have been careful and constant in your culture, the weeds will be so much subdued that they will not start again, for the Corn^ stalks ^ill shut out light from the ground, and without light weeds will not thrive. In July go over the field with the hoe, and cut and remove any remaining weeds. Then sow the Grass seed broadcast, which is a rather difficult and tedious process, for the sower must stoop lower than the Corn leaves, to spread the seed well over the ground. After sowing, rake the surface thoroughly with wooden rakes, to mix the seed well with the soil. Under the protecting shade of the Corn it will germinate rapidly, Cut the Corn in September as close to the ground as possible, and remove it at once from the field, stooking it along the edges or elsewhere. Immediately after some shower, roll the field thoroughly, so as to make it as level as possin ble, and press the Corn roots into the soil, where they will soon de- cay ; for the same reasons, roll again before winter, and in the spring. Prepare land for early Potatoes. The land for this is the pas- 490 APRIL. ture, or sward of 'last year, which is to be got into condition for winter grain. Plough with the Michigan plough, or with the com- mon plough followed by a sub-soil. It is in the Root crop that the deep culture and thorough manuring are to be done, as after that crop is removed, the land lies in grain or sward for 5 years. Potatoes are not, therefore, as good as other Roots, as they are not benefited by much manure. The best crops of best Pota- toes are usually grown upon unmanured but rich land. It has been thought by many that manuring has caused the rot, and I am of those who feel that less, rather than more manure should be the rule, for the sake of the tuber. Indian Corn may be planted in ro- tation in place of Potatoes, if you choose; planting the 90 day Corn in the middle of May, it may be stooked by the 20th of August, or the 1st of September ; and afterwards there will be time to sow winter Grain. Before ploughing, cart on manure ; the amount of this per aci-e, will be determined by the stock on hand, as all of it is to be used on this and the other Roots ; no other than special manure being needed by the other crops in the rotation. An am- ple dressing is 10 cords to the acre of very rich manure ; this is equal to 4 ox, or 2 horse, cart loads with the side boards on, well trodden and full to the top. Our New England farmers will take their first alarm at this, in their eyes, immense dressipg. 20 cords of ordinary compost will be still better ; remember that the field is to receive no other than special manure, or top dressing, for 6 years. Having ploughed in the manure, harrow and furrow out. Run the furrows across the field 3 feet apart each way ; drop into each intersection, your Seed Potatoes ; the number will depend upon the kind you use, and the traditions of your district. If whole and small, 1 to 3, if cut in pieces, 3 to 4 pieces ; lay them in with some care ; as the seed is dropped, a man or boy should follow with plaster of Paris, and shake a handful over each hill ; another should cover the Potatoes, drawing over them not less than one, nor more than two, inches of earth ; the seed having been well cov- ered, the hoe should be pressed down on the hill to consolidate the earth. I mentioned in September, several varieties of good Potatoes ; THE FAJJM. 491 add to these, for early culture, Hill's Early, ripens in July ; Che- nango, in August; Jackson White, also in August ; State of Maine, Gilly Flower, and many other varieties variously esteemed. Potatoes can be plantedjhe last of this month, or the first of May. Another spring crop, which may be planted upon lea or fallow land, manured 6r not, is Peas. I do not mean Peas for the table or market, but Peas as a field crop. Prepare the land as just de- s'cribed, and harrow evenly. Sow the seeds, with a seed-sower, in rows 3 to 4 feet apart, using 2 bushels to the acre ; set the seeds ? inches deep in the ground. Treat like Indian Corn during the sum- mer. They will be ripe in July, when pull up and bind ; stook till dry, then thresh. The yield will be about 30 to 50 bushels to the acre. Peas are exicellent flesh-forming food for cattle or hogs. The straw will be readily eaten, or may be used for litter. This crop can be sown as early as Oats, although early Peas are more open to the attacks of weevil than those sown later. On the other hand, the Pea likes much water, and late-sown crops - are liable to be checked by di'ought. The field Bean is another crop similar to the Pea, but cannot be sown till the middle or last of May, through fear of the frost ; and as they grow quickly, they need not be sown till the middle of ■June. Plough, harrow, and roll. Sow the Beans in rows 2 feet apart, using 1 bushel to the acre ; set the seeds 2 inches apart, and 2 inches deep. Hoe during the season. As soon as the pods are yellow pull them up, tie in bunches, and stack to dry. Thresh them as soon as they are dry. Beans ground are excellent food for cattle, with Turnips. The straw is good for fodder or litter. Both Peas and Beans should be cracked or ground before feeding, in order to render them more digestible. During wet days, which come often in March and April, the farm hands should be employed in the manure cellar. Let them first clear a space, situated conveniently near, and there begin to make a pile of manure. The manure accumulated during the win- ter, and packed and trodden by the hogs, is very solid. It may be rendered more manageable by turning it over, and at the same time will become better mixed. After turning, leave it a few days before it is used. During the process of turning, it would be 492 APKIL. well occasionally to sprinkle the heap with diluted sulphuric acid, or to shake over it Plaster 'of Paris, charcoal, or peat dust, to absorb the gases which would otherwise escape, and to stop heat- ing or fermentation. Fermentation, or heating in the manure pile, is the progress of chemical change, which results in the evolution of carbonate of ammonia, evident enough to any one who stands near a pile of heating manure. Other gases are formed in the process, and es- cape at the same time, but the carb. ammonia predominates, and the pile loses most by its escape. When the acid, or other absorb- ent, is spread through the heap, these chemical changes are arrested, and whatever gas has been generated is immediately absorbed ; no more can form, and consequently fermentation stops. In the last month (while discussing the rotation of crops) and in the present, I have frequently referred to artificial manures as a means of fertilizing crops, and some readers may not understand why the term " artificial " should be appropriated for any set of manures, when all manures are, to a certain extent, manufactured articles. The term is particularly applied to guano, super-phosphate of -lime, poudrette, rape-cake, bone dust, and other fertilizers, which are articles of cotnmerce. Different farmers preferring and ■using different kinds of artificial manures. Already many thou- sands of tons of them are used in this country, but seldon with care or accurate knowledge of their value. The use of artificial manures is an indication of the improvement of agriculture, since, gener- ally, only those who are desirous of improvement, will spend money for manure. And the man who is willing to do so, is generally anxious that the land for which he makes the outlay should be in the best condition possible, in other words, that he should get the best return for his investment. Yet there is a class of greedy men, eager to get money, who buy and use these manures without inves- tigation or discrimination, having only a general perception that artificial manure will rapidly increase their crops. Such men will sooner or later, overdo the thing, and suffer from the careless use of these stimulants, and then they will pronounce this whole class of manures too dangerous to be of any value. Every reader of American agricultural literature must have THE FARM. 493 been astonished at the differences of opinion about the value of guano. Some men pronounce it the most valuable of manures, the regenerator of soils, the mainspring of agriculture, the great means by which the farmer may improve his condition. Others maintain that it is uncertain in its operation, overstimulating land for a time and then leaving it exhausted and barren, at one time powerful, at another powerless ; in short, unreliable and val- ui.'less. As with guano, so with all all other manures ; no two statements about them are alike. Curious and inexplicable as this seems at first, it is owing to nothing but greedy haste to get rich by a short cut. Nothing for nothing is the rule everywhere in Nature ; and no man grows rich in farming by short cuts, unless it be at the expense of those who follow him. I have said that unlimited patience is the stock in trade of the successful gardener ; the same is true of the farmer. The operations of Nature are slow and sure, and not to be hurried ; her laws are immutable. If we would succeed, we must study her secrets, and do as she does. Your assertion or mine is of no weight unless based on personal experience both wide and minute, or on similar experience of other men. To hear the talk of our experimental farmers, one would suppose that the round of agri- cultural experiments and success began with them, whereas the laws which govern agriculture have been discovered by long and patient groping and many trials, and are now matters of record. If you are inclined to make experiments, which require time and money and imperil your crops, endeavor to learn by reading and in- quiry, how others have succeeded in similar experiments, and what was the cause of their failure or success. Their experience may enable you to avoid the rocks, the snags, and the whirlpools, the situation of which you must otherwise learn by sad experience. I will endeavor to show the principles upon which successful manuring is based, and to lay down a plan for future action. To arrive at any definite and consistent plan, we must ask and answer the questions, " Why manure at all ?" and " What is manure ? " To take these questions in order. We know that any plant cul- tivated on an acre of land for many successive years without ma- nure, finally reduces that acre to sterility. It will bear no more of 42 494 APRIL. its old crop. The reason for this seems to be, that the constituents of which that crop is composed, are withdrawn to such an extent, that there is not enough left to support new plants ; not enough, I mean, in a form adapted to the plants. That the necessary con- stituents are not wholly exhausted, is proved by the field's being able to produce the same crop again after lying fallow for some time. A large part of the vegetable constituents of plants is float- ing in the air as gas, and rain washes down a portion of them as it falls, making thus a considerable contribution to the crops. But the air does not contain all the elements of plant life, for lime, potash, and soda, technically called " salts," are not volatile, and can neither float in the air nor be supplied by it ; yet they are always found in greater or less amount in all plants, and are essential to their life and growth, though we do not know how ; and they are all important to the formation of the flesh, bones find blood, of men and animals, who obtain them principally from vegetable fibre where Nature has stored them. They may be formed through the agency of the atmosphere. For instance, lime exists as a carbon- ate in the rocks, and as these crumble into powder under the con- stant contact of atmospheric gases, the influence of storms and frosts, they spread the Lime over the neighboring soil. But this is a slow process, and we are forced to believe that no soil is ever wholly exhausted of the available form of these salts, whilst it may be wanting in the gases which are necessary to plant life, and in whose absence plants cannot appropriate the salts. It is not difficult to ascertain the constitution of a soil, and to make a table of the constituents. I shall, in the following pages, give several such tables ; do not in reading them be misled as to the quantity of the various constituents contained in the soils men ■ tioned. In some cases the constituents will be given in pounds, in others, in a per centage ; to get the number of pounds, will, in such cases, need a little calculation. I have not quoted the number of tables or the variety of soils I might have, as the number would not strengthen the points to which I wish to attract your attention, and in the tables quoted you will find ample illustration of the value of earth analyses, and of the THE FARM. 495 component parts of soils. The soils of your farm may differ from these analyses materially, but the principle will be the same. CLAT FKOM ZUIDER ZEE.* Insoluble quartz or sand, with alumina and silica. Soluble silica, Alumina, Peroxide iron, Protoxide of iron, Protoxide of manga- nese. Lime, Magnesia, Potasli, Soda, Ammonia, Phosphoric acid, Sulphuric acid, Carbonic acid. Chlorine, Humic acid, Crenic acid, Apocreuic acid, Humin, vegetable re- mains and water, chemically combined. Wax and resin, Loss, 1. 2. 3. 57.646 51.706 55.372 2.340 2.496 2.286 1.830 2.900 2.888 9.038 10 305 11.864 .350 .563 .200 .288 .354 .284 4.092 5.096 2.480 .130 .140 .128 1.026 1.430 1.521 1.972 2.069 1.937 .060 .078 .075 .466 .324 .478 .896 1.104 .576 6.085 6.940 4.773 1.240 1.302 1.418 2.798 3.991 3.428 .771 .731 .037 .107 .160 .1.52 8.324 7.700 9.340 trace. trace. trace. .542 .611 .753 145,605 lbs. 5,404 " 54,251 " 81,565 " 2,907 " 17,289 " 35,007 " 229,509 " Soluble matter to an acre. 100.00 100.00 100.00 The number of pounds is ob- tained as follows : the weight of nn acre of good land, 1 foot deep, is given as 4,094,640- pounds, or 94 pounds to the cubic foot. By the use of these numbers, you may get the weight of the per- centages of any tables of analysis of top-soils. This soil is kiln-dried before making the analysis. These are rich soils, and draw their origin from the Rhine country and de- cayed rocks. IN ONE IMPOVERISHED SOIL.f Silica, quartz, sand, and 61.576, silicate. Alumina, Oxides iron, Oxide managanese. Lime, Magnesia. Potash and soda. = over 2,000 000 pounds. .450. .524. trace. .320, = 13,102 pounds. .130. trace, = many pounds. *Text Book of Agriculture, p. 33. t Text Book of Agriculture, p. 35. 496 APRIL. Phosphoric acid, trace, = many pounds. Sulphuric acid, " " Chlorine, " " Humic acid, 11.470, = about 500,000 pounds. Insoluble humus, 26.530, = and is a source of, and converted into car- Organic matter, contain- bonic acid, ing nitrogen, 00.000. Carbonic acid united to lime, trace, = many pounds. Water, none. When kiln-dried, a trace in an analysis of 100 grains, would be many pounds in 4,094,640 pounds. Organic matter, 4.50, = 184.258 pounds. Contain perhaps, a little nitrogen ; mostly carbon. Silicates, 87.60, = over 3,000,000 pounds. Alumina, 3.65. Lime, .45, = 10,425 pounds. Magnesia, trace. Peroxide iron, 1.39. Potash, .01, = 49 pounds. Soda, .08, = 3,277 pounds. Chlorine, .06, = 2,456 pounds. Sulphuric acid, .12, = 4,913 " Phosphoric acid, with iron as phosphate, .03, = 1 ,228 pounds. Carbonic acid, 00 Moisture, 2.00. Loss, .01 . 100.00 Kiln-dried, as before. These analyses of soils are just as good for my purpose, to show what good and poor soils offer to the crops, as though I had a hun- dred such. Let us now ascertain what are the constituents of the crops themselves. I will take the crops usually cultivated, and give in tabular form the number of pounds to the acre, of the various constituents which will be removed by these crops. Knowing then, what crops require, and the composition of soils, we have next to as- certain what the air furnishes ; we shall then see the elements which are to be supplied by culture, to facilitate the growth of crops. "When we look at the vast amounts of the various constituents * Text Book of Agriculture, p. 36. THE FARM. 497 of the soil which exist in every fertile acre of land, it seems im- possible that they can be exhausted even in a long course of cropping, or that the small amount we can return as manure, can be of any use. According to Boussingault,* Wheat takes from the soil, As Wheat, 1,052, Dry crop in pounds ( of the ash. ( To 1-2 an Eng- As Straw, 2,558. lish acre. 3,610. This reduced to ashes, gives: — Wheat ashes. 2.4 per cent, ) ( 25 pounds. 7 per cent, ( (179 pounds. Straw ashes Constituents In 25 lbs. Wheat ashes. In 179 lbs. Straw asl) Phosplioiic acid 12.0 5.0 Sulphuric acid. 0.3 1.5 Chlorine, 1.0 Lime, 0.8 15.0 Magnesia, 4.0 9.0 Potash and soda 7.0 17.0 Silica, 0.4 121.0 Oxide iron, etc., trace. 1.75 The organic matter of an average crop will take from 1^ acres : — of carbon, 2,259 lbs. ; of hydrogen, 262 lbs. ; of oxygen, 1,923 lbs. ; of nitrogen, 52 lbs. ; of nitrogen (in the form of ammonia), 63 lbs. Let me say here, before going further, that ammonia is a com- pound formed of nitrogen and hydrogen, one equivalent of nitrogen to three of hydrogen, represented in chemical formula as N H^. We see from the table of constituents found in the analysis of the ash, that nitrogen enters more largely into the formation of plants than any one saline element except silica, of which, as we have seen, there is always a preponderance in common soils. As far as analysis and experiment have been able to detect, nitrogen is never taken up by plants in its pure form, but only as ammonia ; and although we may manure crops with various kinds of nitrates, — that is to say, preparations in which nitrogen exists not as am- monia, — yet before the plants can use it, it is changed into ammo- nia. Nothing enters the plant through its roots, except dissolved by water ; ammonia is readily dissolved in water, and thus carried * Rural Economy, p 366. 42* 498 APRIL. into the plant. That some nitrogen may be carried into the plant from the air, is quite possible, it being a constituent of the atmos- phere in connection with hydrogen and oxygen ; but investigation does not show that the plant has any power of separating nitrogen from the atmosphere, for its own use, and accordingly it is gener- ally admitted that ammonia is the source of the nitrogen in plants. I dwell upon this question because upon the importance of am- monia in the economy of plants, depends the value of the different special manures. One class of chemists assert that there is no need of supplying ammonia artificially, but that the value of a ma- nure depends entirely upon the quantity of salts (lime, potash, and soda), together with phosphoric acid in it. Another class stren- uously maintain that the value of a manure is determined by the ammonia which it can yield to plants, and that the salts are of no consequence so long as there is a fair amount of phosphoric acid with the ammonia. Let us examine a few more crops before proceeding further. Analysis by Hemming. — A Rye crop abstracted from one half- acre (English) in pounds of — carbon, 2,169 ; hydrogen, 245 ; oxy- gen, 1,868 ; nitrogen, 34 ; potash, 25 ; soda, 1 ; lime, 10 ; phosphoric acid, 14 ; ammonia, 41. A Turnip crop took from one half-acre (English) in pounds : Nitrogen, 159 ; potash, 166 ; soda, 5 ; lime, 102 ; phosphoric acid, 33. A crop of Beans took from one-half acre (English) in pounds : Nitrogen, 164; potash, 55 ; soda, 8; lime, 37 ; phosphoric acid, 29. Boussingault ascertained that in a rotation of 5 years, the follow- ing crops (per one-half English acre) took in pounds :* — Dry Crop. Carbon. Hydrogen. Oxygen. Azoteor Ash. Nitrogen. 1. Potatoes, 2,828 1,244 164 1,264 42 113. 2. "Wheat and Straw, 3,122 1,487 171 1,262 32 270 3. Clover Hay, 3,693 1,750 185 1,396 78 284 . { Wheat and Straw, 3,857 1,836 210 1,559 40 210 ( Turnips, 2d crop, 3,656 2,832 36 278 1 1 50 5. Oats and Straw, 2,151 1,087 125 816 26 99 19,307 10,236 891 6,575 229 1,026 Boussingault is an advocate of the free use of ammonia as a ma- nure, and values manures in proportion to the amount of ammonia * Rural Economy, p. 357. THE FAKM. 499 in them, and accordingly in his analyses makes no account of the ash. Prof. Liebig, on the other hand, values his analyses and manures upon the saline constituents of the ash, and neglects the organic and ammonia-producing qualities. I will give some of the analy- ses of the ash, of the above crops, taken from Way, that their con- stituents may be understood. I gave Boussingault's analysis of the dry crop. In Way's tables the weight of the dry crop is given, and with it the ash ; but Way's crops were sometimes taken from twice as much land as Boussin- gault's, and are sometimes twice, and often several times greater in gross weight than Boussingault's, and consequently the compar- ison between the ammonia of the one, and the ash of the other, is only approximate. Nitrogen, aa shown Boussingault's Way's in last table. Analysis.* Analysis .t lbs. Crop, lbs. Ash, lbs. Crop, lbs Ash, lbs. Potatoes, 42 11,733 113 12,750 423.97 Clover Hay, 78 4,675 284 4,000 213.09 Wheat and Straw, 40 4,977 210 9,068 246.01 Turnips, 11 8,754 50 52,000 600.30 Oats and Straw, 26 2,882 99 5,040 198.90 way's analysis OF THE ] FOREGOING Potatoes. Clover Hay. Wheat and Straw. Turnips. Oats and Straw. Silica, 16.86 2.11 150.52 14.24 96.80 Phosphoric acid, 47.99 31.54 60.98 22.30 Earthy phosphates, 51.09 Sulphuric acid. 50.21 1.25 0.44 78.82 5.80 Lime, 29.11 43.21 8.88 107.68 12.00 Magnesia, 25.41 9.75 12.70 21.54 9.10 Peroxide of iron, 1.35 0.56 6.29 2.70 Potash, 195.07 64.31 39.23 201.68 36.50 Soda, 27.53 36.79 2.14 39.21 3.60 Chlorine, 16.64 4.58 38.15 Salt, 13.80 26.69 6,30 Chloride of potash. 2.00 3,80 A difference will be observed in the number of pounds of crop given in the two quotations of Boussingault's analysis ; — the first quotation shows the number of pounds of kiln-dried material, the second of the material in its condition when harvested. The weight of the crops analyzed for the ash by Way and others, is given in its ordinary condition, and to make the table intelligible in its comparison, in the second quotation I have given the crop of * Rural Economy, p. 357. t Brown's Field Book of Manure, p. 391 . •500 APRIL. Boussingault, in its harvested condition. Let me now call your attention to the fact that vast as is the amount of soluble minerals in fertile land, the insoluble ingredients are in much greater propor- tion, being sometimes 60 to 80 per cent. These insoluble materials vary with the locality ; they are rocks composed wholly or in part of Lime, Potash, Soda, Magnesia, Silex. Silex, or Flint, gives to the outer coating of straw its hardness, and is as necessary to plants as any other element. The analyses of " fertile soil " show a considerable and constant amount of ammonia, which should increase rather than decrease in the hands of the good farmer, and yet we have seen that plants annually take from the soil a large quantity of ammonia. "Whence do they get it ? Cai-eful analysis of air, of rain and snow-water, shows an appre- ciable amount of uncombined ammonia in the air, which is washed down by rain and snow and carried into the earth : but a thorouo-h course of experiments just concluded by the best agricultural in- vestigators in England, has proved that the amount annually fur- nished to the earth in this way is less than the amount taken away - annually by ordinary crops. Yet the opponents of special ammo- niated manure have pointed to the ammonia of the air as sufficient to supply all the wants of the crops, and have maintained that any other supply of ammonia is unnecessary. One follower of Liebig gives the number of pounds of ammo- nia found in the soil of several different acres, varying in amount from 3,000 to 8,000 pounds, and then triumphantly inquires what farmer would ever cart from his manure-yards 8,000 pounds of ammonia to his fields*. This is most mistaken reasoning. Our tables have just shown that in a single fertile acre, there may be 145,605 pounds of lime, 54,251 pounds of potash, 17,289 pounds of phosphoric acid — all soluble. What farmer would ever think of carting such quantities of these salts out of his yards to his land ? Again, it is said that the value of barnyard manure is dependent, not upon its ammonia, but entirely upon the carbon and salts sup- plied by it. But the same great authority who asserts that all the * Prof. Horsford, Cambridge, Mass. THE FARM. 50l ammonia needed in agriculture may be derived from the washings of the air, shows that at least 200,000 pounds of carbonic acid per acre may be supplied from the same atmospheric reservoir. In' the eyes of his school then, the value of bai-nyard manure cannot depend on its carbon. The constituents of barnyard manure are, about 80 per cent water, 18 carbonaceous matter, 2 of salts and' ammonia. If then its value lay in its carbon and salts, oar farm- ers would do well to burn their manure and carry out the ash only, which would reduce the expense of manuring a field with barn- yard manure at least one half. But in fact, this manure, though- not in any one's opinion perfect — varying as it does in quality, and never containing all the elements of plants in due proportion — has always been found more generally efficient than any other mar- nure. How it may be improved will be stated hereafter. To return to the advocates of saline manures. They give a list of instances in which the crops on different pieces of land were doubled and trebled by the application of some saline manures, lime, gypsum, phosphorate of Jime, etc.; and from this they reason that these salts are the important special elements in ma- nures, and that their liberal application will result in unbounded- crops. ■ On the other hand, the advocates of ammonia show equally large lists of cases in which the application of that substance produced crops as great as those that followed the saline manures ; and from this they infer the importance of ammonia, and the uselessnesa of any other so-called fertilizer. I could give lists of experiments on both sides, each list equally conclusive in favor of the manure employed in the experiments ' set down in it. Both cannot be true, and in their precise applica- tion neither is true. Before defending either side of this argument, we must consider to what use vegetation is devoted. With scarcely an exception, to support animal life. Animals can thrive only upon food which contains nitrogen ; therefore an analysis which deals only with ash of a crop, can furnish no argument applicable to animal econ- omy, for the food of an animal must contain all the elements neces- sary for animal life. To omit from your analysis that portion of the crop most essential to the result for which the crop is grown, is 502 APEIL. absurd ; yet this is done in every ash analysis. The heat necessa- rily applied to obtain the ash converts nitrogen into volatile ammo- nia, and sends it off in the form of gas. Such an analysis can only satisfy those who assume that all the nitrogen needed by plants is supplied by the air. This is assuming the whole ground, and if admitted cuts off all further argument. But I do , not admit it, or see how any one can admit it. Let us take the case of an acre of land, sterile, and destitute of various salts, of carbon and ammonia, with nothing but lime in abundance. It would be useless to expect a crop if we applied to this acre once or twice the amount of mineral matter that our crop would need. Even under the best culture, the land could not be so thoroughly worked and exposed to the action of the roots, that the crop could search thi'ough the whole acre (4,094,640 pounds of soil) and hit upon just what it wanted. The advocates of the saline theory would not expect it, any more than we ; they would expect to supply annually for several years, the saline constituents of the crop in some excess, and in such form as would enable the crops to seize it readily, and would not feel sure of an ample crop until the constant accretions amounted to enough to leave a large balance on hand, on which the crop could draw in time of need ; and they would not consider the condition of the land perfectly satisfactory until it was so well stocked with these constituents, that the addition of a year's supply would be necessary only to keep this balance good. Or again ; suppose all the saline constituents to be abundant, ex- cept one, and that one an element universally and largely diffused through plants, — potash, for instance. Would our theorist rely upon the disintegration of the thousands of pounds of solid rock in the soil, which might annually crumble enough to supply to an acre of land the few pounds of potash needed by its crop ? He would have good reasons for not doing so ; he knows that the process of disintegration would be slow, and not most active during the grow- ing season. He knows that it might be more perfectly and surely accomplished in one part of the field than in another, and that ac- cidental causes might altogether check it. These reasons would decide him to apply potash enough, in an assimilable form, to carry or T crop, at least, through the season. THE FARM. 503 Let us now put the case of an acre of land abounding in saline constituents, but destitute of ammonia, from which several crops are to be taken, demanding various amounts of nitrogen. Obviously, the only natural source of nitrogen in this case, is the ammonia in the air, which will be carried into the soil by the rain and snow. * According to Liebig, the largest annual amount that can be cal- culated upon from that source is " upwards of 80 lbs. of ammonia, or 65 lbs. of nitrogen ; for by the observations of Schubler, the annual fall (of rain) must be 2,520,000 lbs. This is much more nitrogen than is contained in the form of vegetable albumen and gluten in 2,650 lbs. of wood, 2,500 lbs. of Hay, or 200 cwt. of Beet- Root, which are the yearly produce of such a field. But it is less than the straw, roots, and grain of Corn, which might grow on the same surface, would contain." The field here calculated con- tains 26,910 square feet. To an English acre there would be 158 lbs. per acre of ammonia. In another place he says: " No conclusion can have a better foundation than this, that it is the ammonia of the atmosphere that furnishes nitrogen to plants." ' The amount of ammonia thus supplied comes in the shape of the carbonate, which is the volatile form of ammonia, and when carried into the earth is either still retained as a carbonate, and still volatile, or is fixed by the free or combined sulphuric acid in the soil, and con-, verted into sulphate of ammonia, which is soluble in water, but not volatile. There can be no doubt that some is thus fixed, and a strong argument for the use of gypsum, or sulphate of lime, is that it fixes ammonia, the sulphate of lime yielding its sulphuric acid to the ammonia, taking, in payment, its carbonic acid, and becoming carbonate of lime. How much is thus fixed, of the 158 lbs. to the acre, we do not know ; but that which remains as a carbonate is still volatile, and under the warmth of a summer sun undoubtedly re- evaporates into the air, as does the same gas from an unfermented manure pile ; whilst during the winter it is scarcely absorbed at all, as at that season the larger part of the rain and snow-water runs off the frozen surface into the natural drainage. * Agricultural Chemistry, p. 44. 504 APRIL. Of the whole amount supplied in rain, etc., not more than two- thirds (105 pounds) can be absorbed, and there is every reason to suppose that a large portion of this is re-evaporated, while of the remainder a considerable proportion in most soils would be carried by the water with which it fell, or by subsequent washings, into the subsoil, where it is below the roots of most annual plants. It is a mistake to look upon an acre of cultivated soil as if it were a bed of charcoal, chloride of calcium, or sulphate of lime, which would filter all water that ran through it. Much of the surface of our soil is full of perceptible holes left by worms, decayed roots, etc., and leading directly to the subsoil, through which a great deal of the water that falls runs rapidly into the subsoil, without any filtration or purification whatever, carrying with it any ammonia it may have. And other large quantities of highly ammoniated rain water, that of thunder-storms, fall so rapidly and forcibly as to be shed from the surface like that which falls in winter. In all these ways the ammonia (N H^) supplied from the air is wasted (so far as our soil is concerned), till it is evident that but a small amount is retained for the crops. Again, look at the results obtained by those who use the largest quantities of highly nitrogenized manures. Urine — whether of men or animals — is the most ammoniacal of manures. The fol- lowing table shows the composition of human urine :^ — * Urea, 3.01 IJiic acid 0.10 indeterminate animal matter knd lactic acid, and lactate of ammonia, 1.17 Mucus of the bladder, 0.03 Sulphate of potash, 0.37 Sulphate of soda, 0.32 Phosphate of soda, 0.29 Chloride of sodium, 0.45 Phosphate of ammonia, 0.17 Chloro hydrate of ammonia, 0.15 Phosphate of lime and magnesia, 0.10 Silica, ' trace. Water, 93.30 Loss, 0.54 100.00 * Brown 8 Muck Book, p. 318. THE FARM. 505,^ In addition to the other solid ingredients, we have 3 per cent. of Urea, which consists of * Carbon, 20.0 Nitrogen, 6.6 Hydrogen, 46.7 Oxygen, 26.7 \ 100.0 and is accordingly richer in nitrogen than any other organic ma- nure. When it begins to ferment, it changes into carbonate of ammonia and escapes, giving the pungent smeU to fermenting urine. This carbonate of ammonia is so very volatile, that every possible means must be taken to secure it ; one of which is to mix large quantities of water with urine, for although urine is mostly water, there must be additions made before the carbonate of am- monia is held. By thus diluting it, and then allowing it to stand for a time, a given amount compared with an amount of undiluted urine, equal to the urine contained in the diluted specimen, and allowed to stand for the same time, is found much the richer in ammonia. Thus, in cow's urine : t lb3. solid matter, lbs. N H3. Eecent urine contained / 900 226 „ , ( mixed with water and set by for 6 weeks, 850 200 Same amt-J . , ,, "„ „ ,,. „■ I unmixed " " ' 550 30 This excrement, so peculiarly rich in amnjonia, is scrupulously saved by some nations, particularly by the Flemish and Chinese, who use it largely in various fermented and unfermented forms, separate, and combined with charcoal, gypsum, etc., and the result- ing crops are larger than any which follow the application of any other manure, even in dilution. I say even in dilution, because, as plants can take their food only in a diluted form, it might be said that the great returns from the use of urine were in conse- quence of its being i» a liquid form. So powerful a manure is human urine, that one part of it is equal to 13 parts of horse, and 16 of cow, manure. Other highly nitrogenized manures are guano, rape cake, arid poudrette, or night-soil. The crops which follow their application * Brown, p. 319. t Brown, p. 321. 43 606 APKIL. to various soils are so enormous, as to excite fears that the soil would be exhausted. These facts furnish conclusive replies to those who advocate the exclusive use of saline manures. I have followed both sides of the argument thus far, in order to show that there is room for thought in farming, especially in the matter of manures, and that it is a mistake to follow any theory which disregards any of the important elements of vegetable tissue. We have looked at the constitution of various soils, and at the constitution of several crops. Now take the best soil and cultivate it without manure. For many years the crops will be undimin- ished, but will ultimately decrease. The land is at first in what is called good heart ; the balance is large, and crops can draw on it to any extent without danger of check ; but to ensure a continu- ance of this fertility, and to exactly carry out Nature's laws, we must return to the soil as much of the constituents of the crops as they remove. If we add more of any one thing than is taken away, the proportion of that substance in the soil will increase, and may be neglected in the next manuring ; and on the other hand, I repeat what I have before implied, that it is justifiable to pursue a course of cropping and manuring which does not in each individual instance restore the elements removed, but which in the aggregate keeps the balance equal. We have seen that it is the intention of Nature, by crops of woo4 and the annual accretion of leaves, by the weathering of rocks, by the deposit of more or less ammonia in rain, to raise land to a high state of fertility ; and that if our culture returns only one element — organic or inorganic — it destroys the perfect sym- metry and balance, and impoverishes the land surely, even if it be slowly. It is. necessary' to understand this clearly in order to farm with the best judgment. The foregoing reasoning answers the question. Why manure at all ? We see that unless we restore the elements we take from the soil in crops, we shall ultimately impoverish it; let us now proceed to the farther consideration of the second question. THE FARM. 507 It is quite possible to attempt to keep one's land " in heart " to ill advantage, and with a present loss greater than any future gain. Some enthusiasts have believed that by analyzing crops, ma- nures, and soils, agriculture roay be reduced to the method and precision of manufacturing, and a large or small crop be secured, just as may be desirable ; and this does seem possible when we look at the harmony of parts, and the balance which may be main- tained between what we add and what we remove from our fields. Yet the general practice of farmers is blind aad headlong, especially in this matter of manuring. Proverbial as is the folly of carrying coals to Newcastle, our farmers are guilty of it every year ; at a great expense they carry manure on to land which needs something quite different. If they reasoned and analyzed a little, they would save both money and time, and gain in crops. Had I given more lists of soil analyses, you would have seen the great difference in soils on the same farm. I do not believe that farmers ever will or could profitably have the soUs of all their fields analyzed, and then proceed to manure according to the deficiencies reported and to the proposed crops. Farmers who have in mind analyses of ordinary land could not persuade themselves to manure at all. Imagine a farmer reading in an analysis of his soil that an acre contains 300,000 pounds of Lime, 50,000 pounds of Potash, 75,050 pounds of Magnesia, 4,000 pounds of ammonia ; and that the crop he expects from that acre will use 100 pounds of lime, 500 pounds of potash, 30 of ammo- nia. Could he believe it necessary to add a little more in the way of manure ? he would be the most obstinate of sceptics, and woiJW never put in a pound of manure ; it would seem as mean and small as for a millionaire to save his cheese-parings. And yet with these thousands of pounds of rich mineral manure, the little additions of the farmer are necessary to any good crop. Why, it would be hard to say ; whether because of its being in a form more easily assimilable, or because of the necessity of keeping the balance good, or as a condition of tenure imposed by nature on landholders, it IS necessary. A great error into which men fall in considering analyses of soils, is to suppose that the hundreds of thousands of pounds set 508 APRIL. down there are all in a condition to be used by plants. They are perhaps locked in solid rocks which are nearly insoluble by water, and from which they can be freed only by the slow work of ages, or by the rapid grinding, wasting, and dissolving of the laboratory. It is the free and easily assimilable elements of a soil which are of value to a crop ; none other are of consequence. Remember this when you study an analysis of soil. No fact is better estab- lished in geology, than that soils are not necessarily formed from the rocks that underlie them, but may be diluvial drift. A soil overlying phosphatic limestone, may be wanting in both lime and phosphates. But while it is not necessary or important to have these analyses of our land for our guidance, each man's farming may be much improved by his clearly comprehending the principles of analysis, and the mutual relations between crops, manures, and soils, the general physical character of different fields. He may then apply to each soil that kind of manure which is richest in the elements in which the soil in question is deficient ; he will not waste it on a soil compounded in the same proportions as itself. - Soils may be generally divided into sandy, clayey, loamy, car- bonaceous, and lime soils ; and these again subdivided into coarse and fine, close and open ; with a few exceptions we have learned from the analyses of soils made by David A. Wells for the State of Ohio that all loamy soils, with the exception of river bottoms, are nearly identical in their chemical composition. The difference in fertility arises mainly from the thickness of |i|ie strata, and the fineness to which its particles have been reduced by the action of the elements ; all diluvial soils are overlaid by a stratum of loam, and in its virgin condition, this soil, wherever it lays, is equally fertile, and will produce equal crops ; all crops take from the soil certain salts as we have seen. If the soil is virgin, it will be sufiiciently rich in the salts to give a good crop ; just in proportion to the cropping it has received without manuring; just so much of the various salts will have been withdrawn, and must be restored in some shape to restore the soil to fertility. To begin with the texture of soils. Some land is hard clay, which (even when well drained) retains moisture for a long time, THE FARM. 509 id whether wet or dry is hard and difficult to work. When wet, . is slippery and tenacious ; when dry, it is like a brick. The first iprovement to such a soil is to drain it thoroughly, which lightens and renders it more pervious to air and warmth-; the second is mix with it such materials as will tend to open it and make it ;ht. Let us compare it to a dough, which is sticky and tenacious hen partially mixed. By working into it more flour it becomes oser, but yet lighter and more friable, and by a continuation of e process is brought to an open texture which allows us to do hat we please with it. So a clay soil is opened by the applica- )n of sand, ashes, peat, or carbonaceous manure, all of which are )posed to the close character of the clay. They separate its par- ties, and give new channels for the escape of moisture, and the :cess of light and air. These clays may abound in or be destitute of lime. A little care, id a few simple experiments, will tell which is the case with )urs. If lime is in excess, they are marls, and are valuable as a ne-manure. If lime is absent, or present only in small quanti- 3S, its application will be of great benefit ; top-dressings of lime,; rpsum, and ashes, will produce wonderful efi^cts. , Clays have great power of absorbing ammonia and other gases, id are useful to incorporate with manure and with other soils for at purpose. But suppose that your land is sandy ; all waters and valuable anures rapidly run through it, and the land is sterile. By appli- tions of clay you may counteract the looseness of soil, bind it gether, and ffertihze it. Some other things will have the same feet, particularly peat, and carbonaceous manures, so that we find ese serviceable in two quite different kinds of soil. Peat, bow- er, serves in the sand rather as a sponge, to hold gases and food r plants, than as a binder to the soil, whilst clay answers both irposes. But peat being dark-colored warms the soil, during the owing season, by absorbing all the sun's rays, while it imparts oisture even in dry weather, from its loose texture, which in the lernoon and evening rapidly radiate heat, and by thus cooling the rrounding air condense moisture. A little investigation will show e farmer of what kinds of rocks his sand is composed ; if of 43* 510 APEIL. those rich in potash, and destitute of lime and soda, lime and salt should be supplied, and vice versa. This investigation, the work of a few evenings, wiU be his first step towards discovering the secrets of nature. Suppose, now, that the land is gravelly ; gravel is a sort of coarse sand, which, however, may be of a clayey nature. It has a coarse texture, through which all water or manure may rapidly leach, and is apt to be formed in large part of quartz pebbles, and of siliceous matter, whilst quite often the stones and sand are cemented together by a fine clay. The reasoning already given may be applied to this soil, and will teach the farmer how it may best be drained, be bound by clay, or loosened and warmed by sand and peat. If the land is loamy, it may be overloaded with carbonaceous matter, which becomes inert when too abundant. Experiment will teach that the application of some alkali, like lime, potash, soda, or ammonia, will quicken the inert mass, decompose its carbon, and render it exceedingly fertile ; or that an admixture of sand will give that openness of texture necessary to enable the. roots of plants readily to find the food they need. Or the land may be peaty, full of carbon and water. Of course the water must be removed to let in warmth and air, to sweeten and lighten the soil. Carbonaceous matter, such as bits of wood, leaves, stems, moss, etc., are the component parts of the soil, and are inert, and produce only a sour vegetation, while they form a sponge for water that almost defies drainage. A little thought ren- ders it apparent that the application and admixture of sand and gravel will alter the texture, and open the soil to the free escape of water, as well as to the admission of sun and air, and that a dressing of caustic lime, or potash, will decay and render available the carbonaceous matei-ials. This is the mechanical treatment which a very slight examina- tion of the texture of soils leads to, and which can be pursued without recourse either to purchased manures or to special analyses. It is naturally one of the first steps in improving soils, and the farmer who has made it, finds another reach of improvement open- ing before him. Up to this time he has relied solely on barnyard manure, but THE FABM. 511 now he finds that the sand, clay, or peat, which he mixes with his soils, does more than improve their texture, that it has a positive value iis manure ; and so he is led to look into its chemical compo- sition. In a former month, while speaking of stock, I said that the value of their manure is in proportion to the nature of their food. Hith- erto our improving farmer has cared little for the elements in his manure ; it has all been dung, and that was all he thought about it. But now he must consider not only the mechanical texture and the chemical composition of liis soils, but also the composition of his manure heap, and the means of improving it ; a step which brings him at once to artificial manures. For with the knowledge that without an annual addition of the elements necessary to vege- tation, and removed to greater or less extent in every crop, his most fertile land will deteriorate, then comes a sense of the im- portance of ascertaining whether or not he is " carrying coals to Newcastle.'' He sees the advisability of purchasing a few pounds of the needed elements in their concentrated form, and incorpo- rating them with his more bulky manure. He understands what cheOaca^ elements are, and that without them his land cannot be got into good heart, and kept there ; and having finally come to think upon the subject, he no longer thinks it ridiculous to spread 5 bush- els of salt, or plaster, or lime per acre. It is nothing to him that the amount is small ; he only asks whether it is enough. Our farmers have gone on for ages using barnyard manure, and with success, when they applied it in sufficient quantity, because it approaches to the character of a universal manure, in proportion to the nature of the food of the animals that make it. But the wonder is that men do not grow poor by its use when unimproved. Before we enter on the question of barnyard manure, it should be premised that it is generally more readily taken up by plants, on account of its holding so much water that when fresh it is like liquid manure ; and observe that this water of composition is all important to its value ; without this the other elements would be almost useless, so few and small in amount are they ; yet it is im- portant only in dry seasons, and then only for a limited time. As soon as the earth becomes dry it evaporates, and the manure loses 512 ' APKIL. the advantage it possessed. Under a system of irrigation, or in a moist climate, or in an ordinarily wet season, it is easy to compound manures much more beneficial to the crop, and at no greater expense per acre. It may be said that in admitting the importance of irrigation, etc., to the success of any other than barnyard manure, I admit the superiority of that manure ; since we cannot control climate and rain, and must tlierefore depend on the water of composition. It is my wish not to deny, but to insist upon, the value of the common manure, and to urge farmers to make all they can ; but at the same time I propose to show that we can improve it very much, use it only in part, or wholly do without it. The first step towards understanding this matter, is to examine an analysis of such manure. Of course, this will vary with the kind of stock kept, the number of each kind, and the nature of their food. I will therefore give a table of the composition of the manure of several species of stock, as well as of the compost. This will enable you to see how money is annually wasted, and how to reform your farmyard economies. Barnyard manure in its unmixed state, is composed of the droppings of horses, cows, pigs, sheep, hens, pigeons ; generally horse, cow, and pig, are the chief makers of manure. To this is sometimes added the excrements of the family. On most farms, cow manure will largely preponderate in a compost. On farms where there are many sheep, their manure is kept separate. It is much richer than that of either horse or cow, one part of it being equal to three parts of the best compost. The simple "excrement in a fresh state consists of* Water, 68.71 Arotized matter, .* 23.16 Saline matter, 8.13 100.00 The 8.13 of saline matter is composed of phosphate of lime, magnesia, silicate of potas^, common salt, and silex. So powerful is this manure, that " it is said that 1,000 sheep, folded on an acre * Browne, p. 239. THE FAEM. 513 of ground one day, would manure it sufficiently to feed 1,001 sheep, if their manure could all be saved ; so that by this process, land which can the first year feed only 1,000 sheep, may the next year, by their droppings, feed 1,365. Sprengel allows that the manure of 1,400 sheep for one day is equal to manuring highly one acre of land. In France, it is allowed that one sheep manures about 10-|- square feet of land per night " (when folded on the land). * " The manure of the horse is composed of Water, 75.31 Geine, or organic' matteT, 20.57 Salts, 4.02 100.00 " The geine, or organic, matter, is composed of Carbon, 9.56 Hydrogen, 1.26 Oxygen, 9.31 Nitrogen, 54 20.57 " The geine (organic matter containing both carbon and nitro- gen) is nearly double that in cow manure, and the salts, which are mostly phosphates of lime, magnesia, and soda, are about the same." But its dryness and preponderance of ammonia cause it to heat with great rapidity, and thus to lose much of its value, un- less well secured. As a manure to be used alone, as a top-dress- ing, it is worthless ; ploughed in fresh, or made into a careful, com- pact compost, with loam, peat, etc., it is of great value. When thus composted, the heap should be broad, well trampled, occa- sionally watered and sprinkled with plaster of Paris. Cow manure, as I have said, is usually the most abundant kind. Its composition is Geine 15.45 Salts, 95 Water 83.66 100.00 * Dana's Muck Book, p. 168. 514 APRIL The organic matter of 100 parts cow dung give * Nitrogen, 505 Carbon, 234 JHydrogen, 824 Oxygen, -. . 4.818 6.381 1 part of nitrogen unites with 3 of hydrogen to form one equiv- alent of ammonia. 100 parts fresh cowdung will afford | pounds of nearly pure ammonia, or about 2 pounds 2 ounces of carbonate of ammonia. " Experiments have shown that one cow prepares daily 85.57 pounds of dung, or about 13 pounds geine, 3 ounces phosphate of lime, 1^ ounces gypsum, 1|- ounces carbonate of lime, or per year, 4,800 pounds geine, 71 bone dust, 37 plaster, 37 lime, 25 salt, 15 sulphate potash." f Of the geine, there will be 156 pounds nitro- gen, or 189 pounds carbonate of ammonia. " Cow dung, for several reasons, its universality, its sameness of character, its composition, may be taken as the type of all manures, and all may be valued as they approach to, or depart from it." "A single cow fed on Hay and Potatoes, will yield 31,025 pounds dung, whose composition we have just seen ; this would have lime enough for 140 bushels of Rye and its straw, could it all be evenly spread and readily taken up, and also more than enough nitro- gen." I I have previously said that it is not known what part ammonia or any other alkali plays in the vegetable economy, but the action of nitrogen in the compost heap is very powerful. It acts upon the geine and renders it soluble ; it does the same to the silica, by forming nitric acid with the elements of the air, in con- nection with ammonia, and this nitric acid decomposes the silicates and produces nitrate of potash. Having given the composition of the two principal elements of the compost heap, I now give the analysis of a compost of barn- yard manure, just before it was applied to the soil. * Dana, p. 150. tDana, p. 161. } Dr. Dana's Muck Manual. THE FAKM. 515 Fresh. Dried at 212° Fahr. * Water, 64.96 Carbon, 37.40 Organic, 24.71 Hydrogen, 5.27 Inorganic; * 10.32 Oxygen, 25.^2 Nitrogen, 1.76 Ash, 30.05 Inorganic. Analysis of tlie ash. ' Soluble in water. Insoluble in water, but soluble in muriatic acid. Potash, 3.22 Silica, 27.01 Soda, 2.73 Phosphate of Lime, 7.11 Iiime, .34 " " Magnesia, 2,26 Magnesia, .26 " " Iron, 4.68 Sulphuric acid, 3.27 Carbonate of Lime, 9.34 Chlorine, 3.15 " " Magnesia, 1.63 Silica, .04 Sand, 30.99 Carbon, 0.83 13.01 Alkali and loss, 3.14 " Thus, 100 pounds -well-made barnyard manure gave 65 pounds pure water, 25 inert carbon, 10 per cent inorganic, and .006 (^ pound) nitrogen ; of the 10 per cent ash only 3 per cent are of much value ; but the above manure was of extraordinary value in comparison with the ordinary compost heap." I have recommended all along that manure be formed into com- post heaps with various materials, — at the head of which stands peat ; 2d, clay, old sod, or decayed vegetable matter ; 3d, loam ; 4th, sand ; 5th, tan, sawdust, etc. We have already seen how great are the advantages of clay as an application to land. I have said that for sand it seems to be the specific, but its value is relative, and confined to a few varieties of soils, whilst peat can be much more widely applied, and is of more general value. Under the general name of peat, are com- prised several varieties, of difierent value, from that which is rich in vegetable matter, salts of lime, potash, etc., to those pond muds which are little but barren sand. " 100 parts of average peat contain f Water, 85.0 Salts of lime, 5 Silicates, 5 Geine, 14.0 * Text Book of Agriculture, pp. 321 and 322. t Dana, p. 245. 616 APRIL. "This does not differ much from cow manure, so far as salts, geine, and water are concerned. The salts of lime are about the same, whilst the alumina, oxide of iron, and magnesia in the sili- cates added to the salts of lime, make the total amount of salts in round numbers, equal to that of the cow dung. " If the bulks are compared, it will be found that at 90 pounds per bushel, full measure, and 103 bushels being allowed to a cord, each contains and weighs as follows, in pounds : — * Weight. Solu. geine. Insol. g. Total, g. Salts of lime. Dung, 9,289 128 1,288 1,416 92 Two I Peat, 9,216 376 673 1,049 91 kinds. I Peat, 9,216 519 529 1,048 81 " The salts and geine of a cord of peat are equal to the manure of one cow for 3 months. It is certainly, a very' curious coinci- dence of results, that nature herself should have prepared a sub- stance whose agricultural value approaches so near cow dung, the type of manures." The various analyses submitted, show that the ammonia of mar nures is held in the carbonaceous matter. Peat has its share, but has lost the power of forming more. This power, or disposition, may be restored by the addition of alkali. " Sufficient alkali to give peat the same value with cow manure, is 2 pounds potash, or 3 pounds soda ash, in 100 pounds. We are now no longer sur- prised that peat should be the best component of the compost heap, and it becomes clear why cord for cord, peat mixed with other manures, produces a compost, each cord of which is equally valu- able with any single cord of the original manure." t This fact established enables the farmer not only to double the value of his manure heap, by the addition of peat, but to add nearly as much more, because of the power which peat possesses of absorb- ing gases, holding water, collecting heat, condensing moisture. It is worthy of more than a passing mention, that nature should have furnished this singular substance with two powers which seem almost inconsistent ; the black color of the coarse and stringy fibres absorbs heat which is imparted to the soil, while the same coarse- *Dana, p.246.t tDr. Dana's Muck Manual. THE FARM. 517 ness of fibre, gives it a power of radiation, whereby it cools much more rapidly than the other soil after the sun has gone down, and is enabled thereby to condense and collect the dew, so valuable to vegetation in hot weather. But, at the same time, it is a fact that compost whether composed exclusively of manure, or of peat, or compounded from both, is at least, 70 per cent water. Therefore of each cord carried on to your land, 6,451 pounds are water — more than three tons ! To draw 3 tons 1^ of a mile, costs not less than 50 cts ; for 10 cords of manure to an acre then, you spend $5 in carting water, which, after all, is often of no value ;' as when applied to reclaimed meadows, many of which are pure peat and are always too wet, particularly at the seasons when manure is applied. Of the remainmg 30 parts of the compost, at least, 20 are car- bonaceous matter, which is of no value to the aforesaid peat land, or to over-rich loams, where vegetable matter collects to the injury of crops, and necessitating the application of alkalies to consume the fibres. If the compost is to be applied (as it should be) to sandy, calcareous, or clay soils, this carbonaceous matter is valuable, both as carbon and as sponge ; if to dry soils, where irrigation is impossible, the 70 per cent of water is valuable so long as it lasts. In short, the value of a barnyard composted manure is limited by the crop to which it is applied ; for Turnips, Cabbages, and other crops which unquestionably derive most of their carbonaceous support from the air, it has less valiie than for quick-growing grain crops. Thus a knowledge of the chemical constituents of our compost guides us in using it. We have seen that peat is in itself a manure, though an inert one, and that by the application of caustic alkalies to the amount of 20 per cent of the whole amount of manure used, we may fer- tilize a peaty acre, provided the manure with which the alkali is mixed be carefully spread over the surface. It may be asked whether this process of converting the muck into manure on the field does not eat up the very soil, and so make it impossible to keep land in good heart. Suppose that it does ; we 44 518 APRIL. can obviate the difOiculty by withholding only the water of compo- sition, and applying the other constituents. Even then the return of the 20 per cent of carbonaceous matter would be entirely unnec- essary for any other purpose than as an absorbent or to alter the texture of the soil, for we know that the air supplies to the soil yearly, at least 300,000 pounds carbonic acid per acre, or 1,800,- 000 for the six years' rotation ; and to add the small amount in our compost to a peat meadow already overloaded with carbon in the face of such a supply from the air, would be mere waste. Besides 1 do not pretend to say that the original condition of land is always its best condition, and to be kept of the same by annual returns of what the crops abstract. If in any soil one constituent is largely — injuriously — in excess, it should be cropped in such a way as to reduce that excess. This is the best kind of farming. It is from an excess of carbon that peat meadows seem to lose so much of their fertility after a few years' culture ; the ashes of the wood, roots, and hassocks burned when they were first cultivated gave the proportion of alkali needed by the peat. This is exhausted in a few years and must be supplied ; if by barnyard manure the process is slow and clumsy. To rich loams the same reasoning will apply ; and for light sand, or gravel, or poor clay, I have already said that a composted ma- nure is best. To the loam and the reclaimed meadow therefore, we need apply only the salts removed by crops, and nitrogen in the form of am- monia. The amount of these elements furnished to an acre in our ma- nure, is but a small percentage of the stores already in its soil, but it is necessary to prevent its growing poor. Small as the supply is, its effect is always perceptible, whether we give it in the solid or the fluid form ; and it seems as though plants were endowed with a reasoning power which led them to use the annual income from the manure or the air before beginning on the accumulated principal. Chemical laws may be explained after study, but this law is inex- plicable ; that a crop grown on fertile land without manure should be good, and yet be perceptibly increased, if there be incorporated THE FAEM. 519 with the upper foot of an acre that weighs 4,094,640 pounds, an amount of some special salt, not exceeding 100 pounds. There is this limitation of the law to be stated ; viz., that for a 6 years' rotation, the aforesaid small dressing must not be applied all at once, but annually ; otherwise it will sink into the subsoil, below the easy access of the roots. Probably the action of these special manures is much like that of the accumulated starch in a seed potato, which feeds the young germ before it is old and ^turdy enough to struggle with the rough earth. So these small doses of concentrated food give the plant vigor in its infancy, and carry it rapidly forward to a healthy matu- rity, when it can compel earth and air to yield it food. For a 5 years' rotation we must supply 500 pounds of ammonia. This can be purchased in 1 J tons of Peruvian Guano (containing 17 per cent of ammonia) at $60 per ton • — ($90). Of guano, which contains a larger proportion of ammonia we need not purchase so much. In this ton and a half there are 704 pounds of phos- phates ; our 5 years' rotation will need only 213.80 pounds ; our supply both of phosphoric acid and phosphates will therefore be ample. We shall need 200 pounds of lime. There is none in the guano, but, as I directed, the guano should be mixed with its weight or bulk of gypsum, which wiU give 33 per cent of lime, and 46 per cent of sulphuric acid ; in one ton of gypsum there are then, not less than 660 pounds of lime, and 920 sulphuric acid, at a cost of $3. The crops of this rotation will require 136.52 pounds sul- phuric acid ; of magnesia they ask 78.50 pounds, which is not to be found either in our guano or gypsum ; therefore we must add 421 pounds of epsom salts ($14) sulphate of magnesia, and of potasli 536 pounds, either in the form of ashes or potash of commerce dissolved; of commercial potasli it will take 600 pounds ($36), or 2 tons of ashes ; 350 pounds of common salt will give all the soda and chlorine we will need. These should be mixed with their bulk of fine peat, sand, loam, or elay, to incorporate them thoroughly togetllier, and to insure the proper absorption of the ammonia gas, and an equal distribution over the surface. The items are : — 520 APRIL. 1 1-2 tons Peru, guano, $90,00 430 pounds epsom salts, 14.78 1 ton gypsum, 3.00 600 pounds potash of commerce, 36.00 350 pounds common salt, 1.25 $145.03 Cost of mixing and spreading, 5.00 $150.00 If, instead of guano, we t)uy 1,500 pounds sulphate of ammonia (at 5 cts =: $75), to furnish our ammonia, and for our 213 pounds phosphoric acid, buy 400 pounds phosphatic guano, 80 per cent of which is phosphate of lime, we shaU. get 286 pounds phosphoric acid for $8, and shall need no gypsum, the sulphuric acid being con- tained in the sulphate of ammonia, the Ume, both in that and in the 400 pounds of phosphatic guano, with these : — Epsom salts, 430 pounds, at .06 per pound, $25.80 Potash, 600 " " " 36.00 Common salt, 340 " .0125 " 4.25 $66.05 Sulphate of ammonia, 75.00 Phosphatic guano, 8.00 Cost of mixing and spreading 50 bushels loam, 5.00 $154.05 To apply the same amount of salts and ammonia by barnyard manure, or compost, would require at least, 12 cords of the very best composted manure of which there is any analysis, and this, every farmer knows, would be worth, in the field, spread ready for use, not less than $120, at the ordinary estimate, which omits many items of expense, that would, if considered, raise the cost far higher. Were cow manure used to give the supplies, no less amount than 30 cords would be needed, to furnish the necessary amount of some of the elements. No barnyard preparation, really rich enough to restore the elements abstracted by the foregomg five years, would cost less than $150. Remember that I have said that for some lands these composts are the best manures, though not for all. The constituents of the crops of the 5 years' rotation are : THE FAKM. 521 Ammonia, 500 pounds. equal to 2 cords of pure cow dung. Lime, 213 " 3 " " Snlph. acid. 136 " Magnesia, 78.5 "• Potash, 536 " 35 Salt, 350 " 18 Fifteen cords of pure, unfermented horse manure, will furnish the necessary constituents, but in both cases the manure must be pure and unfermented. To make a manure then, take, — 3 cords cow-manure (which will give ammonia and phosphate),. . . . $30.00 Buy as before, the other manures, 75.00 $105.00 ' Were we to retain the proportions of salts as abstracted by the rotation and tabulated above, it would be absolutely necessary to buy many of them, as no composted manure could supply them in sufficient abundance, excepting at an enormous cost. The effect of liquid manure is wonderful. 400 gallons of the ammoniacal water of gas-works, caused an increase of from 3 to 10 bushels of wheat, above the results of several other powerful manures with which it was compared. Under the use of urine, there has been even a greater increase than this, but I have no room to give examples. There is one marked loss in using compost, and a corresponding gain with special manures applied as wanted ; viz., some of the ele- ments of the compost heap are very volatile, and if the whole amount were applied at the beginning of 5 years' rotation, a large per centage would necessarily escape by evaporation, before the last crop was removed, while, as we have seen, a simUar loss would Tesult, though by a directly opposite process, if the whole amount of salts needc^. during the rotation, were to be put on at once ; the saline elements would wash into the sub-soil, and in a short time would be lost to the roots, and the young crop would be deprived of its simple food, and its valuable stimulus. A supply of these constituents during the five years, drawn from dung, would be very uncertain, as they are needed in different pro- portions by different crops. "When we supply them by artificial 44* 522 APRIL. manures, however, we may give the crop , each year just what it will want, when it starts to grow, without giving any thing unnec- essary. Refer to the list of the constituent elements of the crops of the 5 years' rotation of Boussingault, p. 499. Potatoes and Turnips re- ceived large amounts of potash ; the one 195 lbs., the other 201 lbs., while Wheat takes but 39 lbs., Oats but 36 lbs ; and on the other hand, of ammonia, Turnips require but 32 lbs., Oats, 52 lbs., and Wheat 80 lbs. If the potash had been all supplied at the begin- ning of the rotation, the Potatoes would have had an abundance, but by the time the Turnips came round, their supply would prob- ably have been in the sub-soil. In making an estimate of the cost of supplying special manures, it is difficult to present one lower than the cost of dung ; but if a man does not want to keep cattle, he can buy artificial cheaper than animal manure. The market price of all these elements is high, owing to the limited demand, and to the fact that purchasers are not acquainted with the best sources of supply. For instance, sulphate of ammonia costs 5 to 8 cents per lb., at the shops ; it could be made at gas works, from gas liquors, for very much less. The cost of potash is 5 to 8 cents per lb. ; wood ashes could be purchased in the country, or be made from refuse wood in the forests, so as to bring the price much lower, especially as in the wood ashes, are many other things, which we should be obliged to buy. A cord of leached wood ashes (or 100 bushels), contains 50 to 60 lbs. of pot- ash. In 1 cord of leached ashes, diy weight,* Phosphoric acid 117 lbs. Silex 146 " Oxide of iron 17 " Oxide of manganese 51 " Magnesia 119 " Carbonate of lime 3072 " Potash combined with silica 50 " Where ashes are bought to make soap, or potash, the refuse is generally considered worthless, but we see that its agricultural value is very great, especially for Grass lands, and for all legumin- ous plants. * Dana, p. 144. THE FARM. 523 Wten we have a dung heap to work upon, there is a large list of materials which may be added to it. I will give a list of some of the most valuable and accessible, arranged in the order of their value. No. 1. Human excrement, " urine, Gruano ammoniated, " phosphatic, Sulphate of ammonia. Gas liquor. Burnt bones (ground), " whole, Blood, Soot, Potash of all kinds. No. 3. Sea mud, Pond mud, , Soaper's waste (Barilla ashes). Sea-weed, Seeds of all kinds (dead seeds). Gypsum, Leaves, Soap suds. Clay, Marl, Green manures, ploughed in. No. 2. Bone'black, Hair, Horn shavings. Lime, Salt (waste or good). Oyster shells, Peat, Ashes of both kinds. Seeds of oil cake. Native phosphates. Soda of all kinds. No. 4. Loam, Starch refuse, liquid and solid. Sawdust, Wood chips. Tan (especially Oak), Sea water, Straw or Hay, Fern, Crushed Granite. Large as is this list, it is not complete ; almost all matter, organ- ganized or unorganized, is at some time or place valuable for this purpose. Persons estimate the same kind diflferently, accordin^o their chemical theory. Liebig, the great advocate for saline ma- nures, says : " No conclusion can, then, have a better foundation, than this : that it is the ammonia of the atmosphere that furnishes nitrogen to plants." Another chemical authority, Dr. Dana, a friend to ammonia, says : " It may be established as the fourth leading principle of agricultural cheraistry, that soils contain enough of all the mineral elements to grow any crop." In another place he says : " The nitrogen, then, in dung, is that organic ele- 524 APRIL. ment to which must be attributed its chief enrichment; the nitro- gen is the basis both of the production of ammonia and of the for- mation of nitrates ; hence the quantity of nitrogen in manures will form a very good element for the estimation of their value. Ma- nures will be found rich in proportion to their quantity of nitrogen, or their power of forming' nitrates. This is the great and first cause of the enriching power of dung." Liebig again says : " When we supply to a soil easily penetrable by the roots of plants, as well as by air and moisture, in the form of ashes, the constituents that are removed in the form of crops, the soil will retain all its original favorable state." Of course neither ammonia nor carbonic acid can be supplied in the form of ashes, both being volatile. Liebig says again: "Practice in agriculture has taught us that the amount of vegetable matter on a given surface, increases with the supply of certain substances, which were original constituents of the same surface of the soil, and had been removed from it by means of plants." And again : " In the solid and liquid excre- ments of men and animals, we restore to our fields the ashes of the plants which served to nourish these animals ; these ashes consist of certain soluble and insoluble earths, which a fertile soil must yield, for they are indispensable to the growth of cultivated plants ;" and farther : " the action of an artificial supply of ammonia, as nitrogen, is limited, hke that of humus, the source of carbonic acid, to a gain in point of time ; in other words, to the acceleration of the development in a given time, of our cultivated plants." This grants enough to upset the whole of his reasoning. AU we want of our fields is to yield the crops we cultivate in the growing season, and if the ammonia supplied by the atmosphere comes only afthat season when it caijnot be used, it is of little value ; indeed, as a source to depend upon for our supply, of none at all. Liebig further says : " It is also of importance to know that the rule usually adopted in France and Germany, of estimating the value of a manure according to the amount of its nitrogen, is quite fallacious, and that its value does not stand in proportion to its nitrogen." "We know that the constituents of soils bear a certain relation to the constituents of plants, which cannot be neglected without im- THE FABM. 525 mediate loss ; and if one set of investigators prove the value of nitrogen or ammonia to crops, and another that of the saline ele- ments, it seems to me plain that both are essential. The weakness of the theorizing of Liebig in this direction is summed up by Dr. Dana as follows : — " It has been proved by Krocker, that rich and even barren soils, at the usual depth of tillage, contain an amount of ammonia exceeding per acre that of any fair crop raised by the aid of the best farmyard manure on the best soil ; it is not enough that tons and tons of ammonia are already existent in soil, if that ammonia can only be extracted by chemical processes and human manipu- lation ; no matter how much of this element may be in rain, how much may exist in the soU aided by the inorganic salts, fair aver- age crops may be raised by these natural sources of ammonia. To obtain profitable crops, an excess_ beyond the natural supply is es- sential ; to keep up this excess and to retain the largest return for the seed sown, nitrogen, in the shape of salts or of readily decom- posing organic matter, must be supplied with inorganic salts. The nitrbgenous principle gives at once an energy to vegetation enabling it to unfold early and largely those organs (the roots and leaves) by which the earth and air^contribute their portion to the growth of plants. Nitrogen gives salts power to do more work in the same time ; it is a labor-saving machine, enabling the farmer from the same ground and with the same time and labor to reap larger rewards. Natural vegetation is a low-pressure engine, but it will bear any amount of pressure, so beautifully built is it in all its parts. Inorganic salts are the water, geine the fire which raises the steam to drive this machine, filling the thousand cylinders which are distributed throughout plants. Nitrogen is the regulator of this engine. Nature has everywhere put the machine into the hands of man. • She takes man as her apprentice, and her gener- ous hand supplied the daily bread, while man was learning the construction of valves, the working of pistons, the real power of the engine, the sources of the steam. These, even though dimly seen, nature demands should be worked up to fuU pressure, when the apprentice sets up for himself, and is determined that the sweat 526 APRIL. of his brow, whilst it feeds his body, shall also purify, enlarge, and strengthen his intellect." The soil of any fertile acre is so full of the saline constituents that by supplying ammonia and some few salts we may get large crops for many years, but we effectually reduce the stock of all minerals abstracted and not returned, a reduction which must be felt at last. There is a principle in the chemistry of plants not yet noticed in these pages ; viz., substitution. In the absence of the constit- uent which best supplies a plant's wants, the plant contents itself with that one of the constituents which represents, or which most nearly makes the place good ; so lime is a substitute for potash, potash for soda, soda for magnesia. Again, an insoluble form of some one alkali predominates in almost every soil, as potash in granitic soils, lime in calcareous, and can be set free (made soluble) by adding to the soil the alkali which is deficient, to the immediate and evident advantage of the crop ; and when the alkali is superabundant — as carbon is in peat — no large return of it need be made in manure. The natural disintegration of the minerals of a soil is slow, and the process may be hastened by careful and close culture. The more finely the soil is comminuted, the more rapidly the mineral elements are set free, and the less need there seems to be for ma^ nure. Jethro TuU, itf the last century, and the Rev. Mr. Smith, of Lois Weedon, in England, at the present time, have maintained that by careful and thorough culture, soil can be kept highly pro- ductive for years, and crops of undiminished perfection be taken without manure. The Rev. Mr. Smith has grown large crops of Wheat on the same land for many years without manure, by thor- oughly spading the soil and planting in alternate strips a few feet wide ; the intermediate strips being in naked fallow, open to the free action of air and moisture. , By this culture he has been ena- bled to get from an acre as large average crops as any in England. But his land must inevitably become all the more thoroughly ex- hausted in the end ; it is impossible that a prolonged course of THE FABM. 527 subtraction should not reduce the minuend, the stock of minerals, etc., in his soil. Our farmers would do well to improve upon a part of his system, instead of adopting it entire. They should return the proper amount of manure, and also reduce and pulverize the soil so thoroughly that all its wealth may be opened to the crop. Nature has drawn a beautiful circle around agriculture, — an endless chain, quite independent of man's proceedings; let our culture be as various and exhaustive as it may ; let the growth and decay of animal life be as great or as small as they may ; nothing is added to or taken from the amount of matter in the uni- verse, though it is not always divided in the same proportion be- tween the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. All that grows supports some other life ; the rejected portion of the food of all animals — from the greatest to the least, of each year — is suffi- cient in amount, if husbanded and applied, to produce food for the year succeeding. It rests with us to say how much of this constant quantity shall be organized in plants and animals in our neighborhood. We may improve or neglect Nature's kind provision for us ; we may get the gain or leave it to others more active and enterprising. If we are anxious to be the best farmers, we shall improve every opportunity ; we shall gather up and apply every particle of manure, animal, vegetable, and mineral. In our thorough tillage we shall break the stones, and reduce their mineral manures to a shape more sus- ceptible to the action of the gases and acids stored in the soil, and ready to convert them into food for our crops ; and in return, the generous soil will fill our barns and our purses to bursting. CHAPTER LVn. GREENHOUSE. j^''- ^ j^Y. We are growing tired of the greenhouse, full though it may be with flowers, bright and fragrant. Every time that we enter it, the approach of real, out-of-door spring, the blos- soming trees and wild-flowers, have paled its beauty ; it looks to us too much like a ball- room after a party is over, and we really won- der how it could have given us so much pleas- ure during the winter ; we are all impatience to get the flowers out of doors, and look at the thermometer and the sky many times a day, to see if the weather is not mild enough. All the care that the greenhouse now demands, is the supply of sufficient water and air, the cutting of sUps and sowing of seeds. We shall hardly need a fire unless there should be a long, cold storm, or a very cold night. Attend constantly to the pots and pans of cuttings and seeds, and gradually withdraw water from the stock plants, which are now to be allowed to fall asleep and to rest till the next season ; for dulled as our enthusiasm may be now, it will all revive at the approach of cold weather, and as the chills of the early frosts make themselves felt through the autumn air. No love is more imperishable than the true love of flowers ; it may pass away when we are compelled by sickness or city life to forego their culture, even years may intervene between the times of making and owning one garden and another, but just as soon as the opportunity offers, the true enthusiasm breaks out afresh. The early days of May are at once the most fascinating and the most tiresome of the year. The warm and balmy mornings be- witch us, and with their promise of pleasure to come, draw us out 528 GREENHOUSE. 529 to long and pleasant walks, or to the delights of culture ; but soon come creeping over the landscape the chills of the east wind and the gray mists that so often accompany it, and our enthusiasm and self-gratulation are suddenly nipped. Fast-day is very frequently, in the eastern part of Massachu- setts, the first day on which spring asserts its dominion. Every one knows how often it begins with the delicious warmth of spring, and how as often its end is cold and chilly. The gardening furor of which I spoke last month, will continue unabated during this, and culture will soon begin in earnest. The lime for setting plants into the borders varies very much with different seasons. If the progress of the season has been regular and uninterrupted, it is decidedly warm by the middle of May, and you may set out Verbenas and hardy Geraniums, stock Gilly-flowers, Wall-tlowers, Eoses, Pelargoniums, etc.; but if you want them to grow, you must surj-ound their roots with some fer- menting manure, and water every few days with warm water ; not very freely, or the roots will be likely to decay ; and you may save the plants from chills and checks, by sheltering them during any long, cold rains. Warm rains and showers are beneficial. The last of the month, set out Heliotropes, Salvias, Lantanas, Nierembergias, Fuchsias, etc. All the plants with which you pro- pose to enrich the garden. It wiU still be necessary to watch against frost, and to cover when there is danger of it. A very slight protection, an inverted pot, or hay cover, or even a Pine branch laid over a plant, will screen it from the spring chills. Transplant into the borders, also, all the annuals that are advanced enough to make it worth while, an4 give the others every inducement to grow. Be in no hurry to set stock plants out, as a single chill would materially injure them ; it will be better to wait till the settled heat of June. Some gar- deners recommend giving stock plants a shift now, and adding fresh loam to the tops of the pots. I have given my reason for making these changes later. Those plants which are to make a growth during the summer, such as Euphorbias, Poinsettias, Chrys- anthemums, etc., should be pruned and shifted, and be set where they will start, but all that are to repot should be left undisturbed. 45 530 MAT. Make cuttings of Double Primroses, cut back Heaths, Oranges, and Azaleas, before they make their new growth. Be careful when plants are set in the shade for the summer, to raise them from the earth by slabs of wood or brick, or by thick layers of coal ashes, to keep out earth worms, which would riddle the earth of the pots, letting out the water too rapidly, and reduc- ing the nutritious qualities of the earth. There are two ways of keeping the stock plants; one is to set them on the north side of a building or fence, or under a canopy of wood with latticed sides, which will keep off the direct rays of the sun, and admit the air freely. Evergreens need no sun, unless for a short time in the morning, but abundance of light ; other plants are uninjured by a moderate amount of sun. The other method is to plunge the pots into the earth up to their rims. When this is done, a piece of slate should be set under the pot to prevent the roots of the plants from getting out into the soil. They are very apt to do so, and though they cause the plant to grow rapidly, ultimate injury follows ; for when the plant is lifted in the fall, these roots have to be cut off, and the old roots are un- able to supply the demands of the new wood. It will be found sometimes of advantage to take old, cankered, pot-bound plants out of their pots, and plant them in a border, more or less shaded, according to the variety, and allow them to grow at will ; if so in- dulged, they will often renew their growth and vigor, forming new roots and tops. It is impossible to foresee and provide for every case which may occur — each must be settled as it comes up, with care and judgment. The pots of Auriculas should be coming into bloom now, and should be placed in conspicuous places. The mealy petals which contribute so much to their beauty, must be shaded from sun and rain and high winds, which tend to deface and injure them. During the summer there will be but few flowers in the green- houses. Fuchsias will be in perfection, and Orchids, and some tropical bulbs. Achimenes and Gloxinias, which were planted in February, will now be well grown, and will blossom some time in June, while those planted later will continue in blossom through the summer. GREENHOUSE. 531 All tuberous-rooted plants and bulbs, as Oxalis, Ixias, etc., as soon as their leaves have turned yellow, should be removed from the soil and laid aside in a warm, dry place, for two or three months, according to the time when we wish to start them anew. Pot into small pots, small plants of Polyanthus, of Primula si- niensis, and Cineraria, and as soon as warm enough, remove the pots into borders, where they may get some sun, and grow into ^stocky plants for the autumn. They will need to be shifted once or twice before winter, according to the growth made. Plant Carnations which have not yet blossomed, in places where they will show well ; either among tall-growing plants, or in a bed by themselves. Carnations for winter may be struck now from cuttings, if this has not been done before. Or you may set old plants in rather sterile places, and layer all their branches. Be careful not to stimulate them so that the layers will blossom before winter. As soon as there is 'any intimation of the approach of cold weather in the fall, pot the layers. Full directions for culture will be given in July. Set out in somewhat similar soil the Dwarf Chrysanthemums, which have been under the stage since they blossomed. As they grow, layer the young shoots into small pots ; when they have well-rooted, remove from the parent plant, and as soon as they fill the pot with roots, shift into larger pots and better soil ; you will in this way get good, stocky plants for winter blossom, and rather bet- ter than when made from cuttings. The greenhouse, even after its principal plants are removed, will have some in blossom all summer ; the Orchids, Cape Bulbs, and tuberous-rooted plants just mentioned, Passion Flowers, Wax-plants, Roses, Fuchsias, etc. Take all the plants from the conservative pits as soon as the weather will allow. If you did not start a little growth in the plants by sashes, as I directed, give them all the light and air you can some time before removal. When you have emp- tied the pits, take off" the sashes,- clean and paint and lay them aside. So also the frame-work ; give all the wood-work a good coat of whitewash or paint, to keep off the hot rays of the sun during the summer. Frames containing Pansies, Auriculas, Anemones, and Ranun- 532 MAT. culuses will gradually go out of bloom. As the flowers die and the leaves wither, remove the roots. The Pansies and Daisies may be divided and replanted in the borders, to make a new growth. Pansies can be better grown from seeds than from cut- tings, but Daisies should be propagated from cuttings. Set them in northern aspects, as the summer heats are destructive. The frames containing Anemones and Ranunculuses, should have occa- sional waterings with tepid water, but should be well protected against cold rains which rot the roots, and against high winds which destroy the flowers. Set the Cinerarias out of bloom into cold frames. Give the Camelias completing their growth abundant water and frequent syringings ; by shading the Pelargoniums and other flowers their bloom may be saved for a longer time. Fu- chsias shifted into large pots and manured with guano water will make a great show hereafter. CHAPTER LVni. CONSEKVATOET. The Conservatory, like the greenhouse, is getting out of date, and we only go through it now to get at the garden. From its windows we see the flower-beds gay with bulbs, and we cannot but feel the superiority of the out-door beauty ; and yet the conserva- tory is by no means bare of flowers. If it has been well managed it is as full now as the flower-beds were in the autumn, when the early frost came and cut off Helio- trope and Salvia, and checked the Geraniums and Verbenste. The clusters of rosebuds or La Marque are full and fragrant ; the deli- cate blush on the Saffrano and long, greyhound-like buds of the Yellow Tea, were never more beautiful ; while overhead the blos- soms of the Passion Flower shine like stars in the sky. The Geraniums are in full blossom, and the Heliotropes fill the air with fragrance ; and yet the sweet English Violets among the litter in the garden, the Hyacinths and Tulips of the beds, the Wisteria over the windows, greet us together with the song of birds and the gentle airs of spring, in so attractive a language that we think them more beautiful than the children of the tropics which we have only induced to grow and blossom by extra care. What a mysterious power is exerted over every mind by the spring. The returning birds, the soft breezes, the swelling buds, the springing Grass, seem to re-invigorate the dullest minds, and every earnest man is braced anew for -noble enterprise. In the dreams of early morning, in the reveries of evening, we see the days of our untarnished youth ; we recall the many games which the re- turning warm weather always -renewed ; we remember the May parties, when every one was eager to find the first blossom ; the longing looks sent over the greening fields as we dragged our un- willing legs up the schoolhouse steps, and wished that we were 45* 533 534 MAY. dogs or birds, — any thing but schoolboys, — that we might frohc in the sunshine all day long. We remember the aspirations of our early manhood, how the world all seemed fair and pleasant. We had grown up in the shelter of our pleasant homes, and all we knew of life was its green pastures; and, standing at the gate of our new year, we looked forward to the crops of glory and wealth we were to gather ; we trace the footsteps we have made ; some through pleasant fields and in gardens rich with all the blossoms of worldly success and pleasure ; some through the wintry days of sorrow and disappointment, the wintry fields of poverty, whence we could with difiiculty glean a meagre support. We feel how much of beauty and promise, of sorrow and ugliness, is covered by the pleasant spring ; and whether successful or not in the strug- gle hitherto, there is each spring a new start of the blood in our veins, a new uprising of determination to reap a full harvest the coming Summer, and to meet the next winter nobler and better men. We look more lovingly on the children we meet, have kinder words for friend and stranger, and there is through every part of our nature an atmosphere partly our own, partly the influx of the external promise, which seems, like the golden hazes around the ijsing and setting sun, to gladden and warm and animate every fliought and impulse. a o H 15 O CHAPTER LIX. FORCING-HOUSE. The fruit on the earliest vines will ripen from the first to the middle of the month, and the Black Hamburghs will begin to color by the last. As the fruit colors on the principal vines, remove the pans of water from the flues, and give generally less water. Thin for the last time, cutting out every defective or imperfect berry. Constant care must be taken to keep ventilation good ; the sun will often be obscured for some hours by the clouds, and then come out with tremendous power. Houses ventilated in the wall, as ours are, are not likely to be overheated by these sudden changes, if they receive reasonable attention, as the ventilators in the front and back will prevent too rapid accretion of heat. But houses not so venti- lated are very often injured exceedingly, and should, therefore, be anxiously watched during variable weather. To manage an ill- ventilated house, on a changeable day, taxes the best efforts and as- siduity of the gardener, but it can be done. By the middle of June the fruit will be quite ripe, and, after that, the aim will be to keep the house cool and dry. The treatment of fruit-trees during the summer, in the forcing- house, has been already given in the winter months, and also, that for pot Grapes. These will be fully ripe by the last of May, or first of June. When aU the fruit of vines and trees is cut, remove the sashes, and give but little water till it is time to close again in the autumn. During the summer, red spiders rhay make their appearance. To expel them, strew sulphur about the floors, and occasionally dust it over the vines. As soon as the wood is ripe in the autumn, prune and lay down for the winter. Before shutting up in the autumn, strew sulphur over the flues and pipes, and make just fire enough to melt, with- 535 536 MAT. out igniting it. The fumes will fill the house and kill the insects. After the fumigation, scrub and paint as directed in September. Before the middle of May all the vegetables should be removed, as they will not thrive, and will injure the ripening fruit. We here take leave of the forcing-house. I have given direc- tions, which, if followed carefully, will insure good and healthy vines, and fuU crops of fruit, but the minute culture of the vine de- mands a book by itself. I have given a connected description of the culture of fruit and pot Grapes, in another place. Farther directions seem super- fluous. The cold grapery will be during May, in the condition of the forcing-house in March, and early in April. The vines will be in flower during the month, and some will set their fruit, when they must receive their first thinning. The danger of shanking and shrivelling from ill-balanced heat and moisture, has been already described. The fruit will go through all the stages of setting, swelling, and thinning during June, will ripen in August, and be in use through Septeoaber and October. The treatment of the cold grapery through June, July, and August, is like that of the forcing-house in April, May, June, and July, and needs no farther description, so we may here bid farewell to this branch of our subject. The fruit-trees will be treated as before directed. Ripe Cherries may be expected in May, Apricots and Nectarines in June and July, and Peaches in July ^nd August ; this is the harvest season for glass-houses. ' But though the work of these houses is not varied enough to need farther description, it has imperative claims on the gardener. He must expend a great deal of time and thought upon his houses, or his ripe fruit will be destitute of color, size, and beauty, and his vines and trees will be ruined for future crops. Remember that too much heat, and too much moisture will not benefit the crop ; it must be accelerated, not forced. A neglect of this fact has ruined many an establishment. CHAPTER LX. FLOWEK-GABDEN. Continue the work of April, — digging, preparing borders, and clearing up. Just as soon as the ground is ready, you can sow seeds of the most hardy flowers, such as Mignonette, Sweet Alys- sum, Candytuft, Catch-fly, Flos Adonis, Heart's-ease, Larkspur, Lav- atera. Lupin, Sweet Pea, Hawkweed, Annual Snapdragon, Zinnia. Sweet Peas should be planted in "large masses, at the back of the flower beds, or in hedges along the walks of the kitchen-garden, or elsewhere. Or they may be sown in circles around a bush or some kind of trellis-work, when the size of the other plants warrants it. Beds G, E, may have such groups. Sow Sweet Peas again in June, that they may last till late in the autumn. The size which plants usually attain is generally given on the outside of the seed-bag, and you may be guided by it in the choice of places for planting. Towards the middle of the month, almost all the flower seeds may be planted, Amaranths, Balsams, Asters, Gillyflowers, etc. It will be well at this time, also, to plant the seeds of many biennials ; they will thus get well grown this year, and blossom better next, than if sown later. Among these are Sweet "William, Antirrhinum, Canterbury Bell, Foxglove, Coreopsis, Dracocephalum, Asclepias, Cassia, Gerardia Hedysarum, Hibiscus, Enothera, Penstemon, Lychnis, Eudbeckia, Solidago, American Aster, Spigelia, Chelone, Trillium, Veronica, Podalyria, Liatris, Ragged Robin, Columbine, Iris, Valerian, Thrift, Lily of the Valley, Hollyhock, China Pink, and common Pink, and many others are enumerated in all dealers' lists. All flower seeds should be planted very shallow. If planted too deep, seeds are in danger of decaying ; but if shallow, they receive the full benefit of the sun and showers of spring, in their germinat- ing season. Dig the bed up thoroughly, either with a spade or 537 538 MAT. trowel ; then beat it fine with rake or fork ; remove one quarter of an inch of the top earth, either by skimming or by pushing it back with the rake. Scatter the seed thinly over the surface ; then sift back the loam, not more than one-fourth inch deep, over the seeds. Or, haAg prepared the ground as before, with one tine of the weeding-fork, or a stick, draw a line in the earth one quarter of an inch deep ; scatter the seeds into it, and cover as before. It is pretty to plant seeds in circles, stars, or other figures. Concentric circles of different flowers have sometimes a charming effect. For instance, a small circle of purple Candytuft, surrounded with one of white, then Escholtzia, and outside of that Portulacca, white, red, or yellow. Mignonette and a fringe of Tassel Flower might be introduced. The disposition of flowers, with a view to producing a good effect when in blossom, is a matter of individual taste, and there is ample opportunity for variety. It is difficult, indeed, to produce other than a good effect, with such beautiful material, but the general rule should be followed of keeping the tallest plants in the back- ground. Some varieties should be used but sparingly ; Zinnias, Four-o'- clock's, and such tall, stiff plants occupy a great deal of room, and their flowers are never particularly pleasing. Four-o'-clock opens only morning and evening, and has nothing to recommend it at other times. I recommend the use of only the more delicate annuals ; they give a greater abundance of flowers, and of the kinds most desirable for bouquets and vases, and they harmonize better with the bedding- out plants. It is always well to have some bulbs, some perennials, some bedding plants, and some annuals. By such an intermix- ture, a great deal of pleasure is secured, without much labor. The trouble of cultivating most annuals goes far towards counter- balancing their attractions. It is better to plant a few of their seed in many places, than many in one place, with a view to transplant- ing them. Some bear transplanting ill, others scarcely notice it. When all the seed is sown in one place, you have first to prepare the ground and plant the seed, then to thin and weed the young plants, then transplant as they are wanted; protect from the sun, rLOWEK-GAEDEN. 539 and water them, and so you get your plants with a great deal of trouble ; and as many of them have but little top, they do not cover much ground, and must, therefore, be planted in large numbers to produce any effect. ^ The rules to be observed are : Sow the seed thin, cover but slightly, water in dry times, do not let plants stand too near together, cut down all plants as soon as out of blossom, remove dead leaves, tie up to sticks the drooping heads and branches, let all be neat and orderly. Where effects of color or form are attempted, by concentric cir- cles, irregular, straight, or wavy lines, or otherwise, great care is necessary. The outer shoots of the plants should be supported by small branches of Birch, Beach, etc., stuck into the ground, deep enough to be firm, and so far under the plants as to be con- cealed by their leaves and side shoots. The greatest obstacle to, the successful culture of annuals, is the too great luxuriance of their growth, and rather poor soil is generally better for them, on this account, than very rich. Much may be done towards producing a perfect bloom, by thinning out side branches, and occasionally pinching back leaders. I shall give, in a few pages, a hst of plants which will grow and blossom at different seasons, and the sizes and colors being given, any person can easily choose such as will produce the effect he de- sires. But to get effects of color, you must plant a large mass of the same kind, or color, together, otherwise, only a thin, meagre, and spotty result will be obtained. Many treatises devote a large space to the analysis of colors, showing how plants may be mixed and blended, correctly and pleasantly. Their statements are based on some theory of colors, in which I have no faith. I do not be- lieve that the exact and minute gradings and blendings of color proposed can be produced in an ordinary garden. These treatises analyze the colors of the rainbow, and show how its harmony was produced, and may be reproduced. But in their reasonings, they forget that there is a great difference between the spectrum which they study, and the flower-garden. For the colors of the spectrum are blended where they meet and merge in each other, in a way that is impossible with the distinct lines of color in the flower-bed, 540 MAT. and their connection in the latter case, is still farther effected by the green leaves |hat mingle more or less in every part. Besides, if it were possible to give this wonderful effect from one point of view, it must be lost with a step in either direction, and a flower-bed is manifestly made to be seen and enjoyed from many points ; fur- ther, plants are constantly growing in height and breadth, and no two can be expected to grow just alike. Therefore, elaborate plans of coloring in flower-beds must fail ; and yet, in arranging flowers, we should always be guided by a regard to the relative po- sitions which their colors occupy in most harmonious combinations, so that they may, when in perfection, resemble a well-arranged bouquet, or dish of flowers. By familiar observation of their colors in beds, both the eye and the taste may be cultivated till we learn to love and appreciate color, and instinctively, as it were, how to combine with the pleasantest effect. A bouquet or dish of flowers so arranged that all their colors show to the best advantage, is seldom seen. Flowers are too often mixed confusedly, so that there is no distinct character obtained, and the eye gets no healthy ex- citement. Arrange your flowers always so that one decided color shall predominate in the whole, and also be massed in some partic- ular place. Then contrast with the principal mass of color, those colors best calculated to relieve and show it to advantage. Do not entirely disconnect the main mass from the same color in other parts, but, by a single flower of the same, or a similar hue, carry the eye along to the other parts where the dominant color is again to be seen. Do not put your flowers in blotches, or formal masses, but introduce them with graceful irregularity, so that while you are en- joying the principal color, your eye may be unwittingly led into the other forms and colors that blend and intertwine with it. Do not fall into the common mistake of making your bouquet of noth- ing but flowers ; they should be in abundance, but not so as to con- ceal the green leaves, twigs, and berries. To show them to their best advantage, mix plenty of green, and in autumn, colored leaves and berries with them, which may rest and divert the eye, till it re- turns to find the flowers more bright and beautiful than before. I believe that very much more beautiful dishes, or bouquets, may be made in the autumn, when the flowers are almost gone, than in FLOWER-GARDEN. 541 their midsummer profusion. In the summer, the richness cloys, we enjoy them less, because of their quantity, and cannot help feeling that what is abundant, is cheap, and yet in this abundance of flowers we cannot persuade ourselves to use green enough. As in the dish or bouquet, we approach the reds and crimsons with the colored leaves of autumn, or the scarlet berries of Holly or Wintergreen, or the hips of the rose, the haws of the Thorns, or the jetty black berries of the Privet, we gain an intensity of color that the flower could never attain except in such union. If the edge of the dish, or outside of the bunch, is bordered with the brown greens of the Cedar, Arbor Vitse, and Juniper, the whole tone is still more intensified. Try now the efiect of laying under your Crimson Verbena, or Scarlet Geranium, a bit of cool,, gray moss, and, a little farther off, a purplish Heliotrope, and still farther, a group of White Verbenas, contrasted with the rich green of the Geranium leaf, and again toned by some pink flower, and you will find a wonderful effect, one that will vibrate as you look at it. The habit of heaping colored flowers one upon another, and put- ting nothing else in the dish, arises, I think, partly from the want of delicacy of taste, and partly from taking as a standard of color the spectrum, or pictures, where other things, as light and shade, atmosphere, etc., come in to blend and tone the whole. To return to the colors of the garden. As I have said, arrange your plants according to a well-digested system ef colors, but re- member that unity of effect and harmony is almost impossible from all points, or for a length of time. My flower-garden, if I have in it all the varieties I want, if I work over it for weeks, cul- tivating, pruning, tying up, and watching it, during all that time, may give me the precise effect I have desired and looked for, yes longed for, for months ; but it will probably only be for one day, or even for a part of a day, and never again during the year ; and if I can get that perfect effect for those few moments, I shall be cer- tainly satisfied and repaid, and regardless of comment from those too dull to appreciate or too critical to admire. I shall be content to work another season, just as long, for the same few moments' pleasure. 46 542 MAT. There are moments in life when the beautiful is recalled to us, for which we have waited, watched, and longed, for which we have spent money, time, study; moments which others cannot share, and may not know, which are go'ne as soon as come, but which are the best reward for all our labor and trouble, and which open glimpses to us of the beauty and nobleness, unseen and unattainable here, but which we can thenceforward believe have an existence on the other side the grave. The artist may see this desire of his heart, in some early morn- ing, as the clouds roll away from the rising sun, showing sea, moun- tain, and forest, or he may come upon it suddenly, in the glisten of drops of rain, or dew, or in the blaze of ice-clad trees and bushes under the moonlight, when each twig is a seeming fire of diamonds, or it may look up from the depths of the water, which reilect the awful beauties of the heavens, stretching unfathomable distances beneath his feet ; the musician may hear it in some strain floating through his dreams, in the voice of a singer, in the caroling of birds, in the tones of the sea, in storm or calm, in the lulling, lilt- ing, babbling of the brook ; he may have studied and sought for it through a lifetime, and it may come to him as the reward of his labor, or in apparent mockery, heard for so short a time, so soon gone ; nevertheless, it is something to have lived for, and to die for. The poet will get it in that song which is irrepressible, and from his heart's depths a wail of unbounded sorrow, or a burst of im- measurable gladness. Every lover of beauty sees it xiow and then, it may be, when the glorious and beautiful waterfall of Montmorenci leaps before him, unexpected and terrible, one moment a hurrying mass of water and rapids, a confused outline of hills, river bank, wierd ever- greens, rocky ledges ; the next shut into a gorge beneath his feet, it leaps in the glad sunshine, spanned with rainbows, 300 feet, a torrent of foam, a resplendent veil of mist, a wonder and glory forever ; and then, gathering its waters, gently and peacefully glides, over stones and sand bar, to the broad St. Lawrence. He may see it in his own child, or in the flower-bed before his door. It is never the certain reward of labor ; we may work for it a lifetime and never find it while we seek it ; but the seeking will so ennoble and FLOWEK-GAEDBN. 543 purify the mind, and quicken the powers of appreciation, that when a sudden movement unexpectedly brings us upon it, we shall be repaid and stimulated, let it vanish as speedily as it may. The flower-garden may give this momentary delight, or a dish ol' flowers that we have arranged ; but in whatever form it comes, when you receive it, you have lived ; the moment is an epoch, one of the milestones on your way ; you will remember it forever, and date from it all kindred matters. Colors. — You are now in the joyful spring ; you have begun the culture of beauty anew. Out of cold earth, rough clods, un- controllable elements, mysterious seeds, you may, with love and patience, bring out the rarest beauty, capable of administering to whatever is best in our natures ; or, in discouragement, you may let weeds choke your flowers, and disorder and neglect turn your garden to a reproach and a sorrow. The following arrangement of colors I have taken out of Mcin- tosh's Book of the Garden, and they may be expected, according to that treatise, to produce harmonious results : — Dark blue, scarlet, white, black, blue, brown, scarlet, white, black, light drab, black, orange, black, light drab, black, white, black, claret, orange, gray, white, scarlet, dark green, crimson, white, dark gray, dark red, black, deep crimson, mixed, geranium, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, dull red, gray, mulberry. The reds need not, and should not, be aU of the same shade ; and so of other colors. Black, of course, cannot be got ; in its place may be substituted the deepest crimson and the darkest pur- ple ; why it is introduced, I do not know, unless it be for intensity of tone. I shall not give any of the elaborate patterns, geometric and irregular, so common in books upon flower-gardens. Tou may get a beautiful effect by a number of small round beds along a path, each of which is filled with one kind of flower, sur- rounded by slate edgings, and in the Grass. They give great va- riety, in spite of their sameness of shape. For instance, fill one bed with Carnations ; they will blossom all about the same time, and may be full of fiowers for some 544 MAY. weeks ; the next two or three beds may be filled with varied Pi- cotes, one red, one yellow, one white, one variegated ; after them Carnations again. Or you may fill one with Mignonette, the next with white Candytuft, the next with pink Lantana, pegged down, then two Verbenas, first purple, then crimson, deep blue Ageratum, dark purple Heliotrope, then Horse-shoe Geranium, and down the other side with a similar succession. There must be enough of each kind of plant to produce a decided spot of color. Another bed, as G, in our flower-garden, may begin, 1, Ne- mophila, 2, Gilia, 3, Ageratum, 4, Heliotrope, 5, Purple Lantana, 6, Scarlet Geranium, 7, Yellow Lantana, 8, Scarlet or Purple Sal- via. A, in this garden, has in the middle 1 Heliotrope, outside 2 Mignonette. F has 1, Scarlet Geranium in the middle, 2, Scarlet Verbena on the edges. O, 1, is Heliotrope, 2, Giha and White Verbena. B and C are full of bulbs in 'the spring; as they go, prick out among them such bedding plants as you like. As there are shrubs all along here, I shall put in these beds the lowest growing plants, Verbena, Gilia, Nemophila. In G and E put annuals among the perennials, and set out among them, like shrubs, large plants of Salvia, Heliotrope, Lan- tana, Brompton tenweek Stock, "Wall-flower, and Carnation. The groups of sweet Peas must be so managed as to cover all the brush which they trail over. The following lists of hardy annuals are taken from the Book of the Garden, p. 817. They are the best for general use among the many there given : — Ageratum, cellestinum, pale blue, 18 in. seed or cutting. " oderatum, lilac, 18 it Alyssnm, calycinum, white. 12 " Anagallis, coerulea. blue. 6 tt <( carnea, flesh colored. 6 It tt indica, purple. 6 Sow In •• latifolia. blue, 6 frames in tt grandiflora, red, 6 March. Asters, china and ger- man, many colored, 12-24 seed or cutting. Amaranth, globe. red and white, 12 it Bartonia, aurea, yellow, 18 tt FLOWEB-GAEDEN. 545 Braohycoma, iberidifolia. blue and white 12 seed or cutting. Balsam, colors, 1 2-: 24 <( Calandrinia, ascendens. dark crimson, 6 " (( glandulosa. red. 12 (( tt grandiflora. rose lilac. 12 (( " speclosa. maroon. 18 (( Calendula, officinalis, fllo. pleno, orange. 15 seeds i;ppOTi;-^QoeNp g| eo-d oicoi-^ «oc4tDcoc6»n.I^ C050.-I (N-*X»fllrtt^Ttco eD«oo irtOco(£'0<«i-'=cm«o s Value of the utDOlOi T(*CN(N ^p»r5«jeooqpTj.-«f| Q* Hay crop. to ^ so O^urS COOtNOO r-< O OO O CO ^1 m:0\^ ■* -^COCO -.tCOCOCOCO CO CO (M -* ^C0 CO X) (Ncoi^ t^-«i*o»n ooincooooooowoi special ma^ " -<^'-^'-i;r^I>;rJ*l>-00C000Tj;Tl;THC0OOC0ppp Quantity of "IF % cDOOOOOOOOOeOOOOOOOOOOOO 1 special ma- ' nure. -w ^^{71_(M-^GqTh«CTCO'*ThOOOlOOO ' i-H CO O a 6 6 d fl g g •a 1 ! t2iPHPLH<^PHa20202C5aQ<1<3