Secretary" s Budget. 279 



ground ; poisoned grain put in their burrows was suggested for 

 winter destruction. 



The speaker found that early apples from nortliern-grown 

 trees ripened later in South Jersey, and winter varieties earlier, till 

 acclimated. The influence of stock on the graft and vice versa is 

 worth attention. Grafts from beai'ing trees of known vigor will 

 fruit earlier than those from young trees in the nursery row, while 

 the latter make a better growth of wood. Such weak-growing 

 sorts as Winesap, Rawles, Janet, Melon, etc., should be top-grafted 

 on straight-grained, easily rifted stocks like Roadstown Pippin. 

 The stock exerts a marked influence on the growth, season of ripen- 

 mg,'size, color and flavor of the fuuit. Harvesting should be done 

 in the cool of the day. Early picking improves the kaepinff 

 quality and late picking the flavor. A second-story room with 

 northern exjiosure, above the influence of cellar, and below that of 

 the roof, proved a desirable storage place. The apples are put in 

 the north side of the room, the windows kept open day and night 

 till severe weather, while all other windows and shutters are closed. 

 In very severe weather the south windows are opened to admit the 

 sunshine to warm the room, and if there is danger of freezing, pails 

 of water are placed in the coldest parts and renewed as needed. 

 The room should not be opened in damp weather. In this way he 

 has, year after year, kept apples, frequently till May, with a loss of 

 less than five per cent, and never exceeding fifteen per cent. — ]\\ 

 Y. Tribune. 



SHEEP IN THE ORCHARD. 



We came along to where the stumps of an old osage hedge 

 were sticking up a little above the surface of the ground. There 

 was not a green sprout about them. " How did you get rid of this 

 so effectually?" A^as the question. "Cut it off at the roots in 

 August, trimmed out the wood large enough for fuel, piled the 

 branches along the hedge row and when dry, and the wind in the 

 right direction, fired them. Sprouts started up in the spring, but 

 the sheep ate them ott'. The second" spring (1884) they suckered a 

 little, but the sheep have finished them. They will give us no 



more trouble." Then came a talk about sheep vs. hogs in the 



orchard. . The former are preferred. They do not root up the 

 ground ; they clear out a great variety of weeds ; they " syste- 

 matically " go over the orchard and pick up the apples that drop 

 early, thus destroying large numbers of worms. Hogs will take 

 the best apples and leave the wormy ones. Sheep will keep down 

 the root sprouts from cherry trees on Morello stocks. But there is 



