2 



THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



be a true "queen of the valley, succeeding best 

 on low, moist, rich soils, better in the valleys 

 than on uplands. It develops a remarkably 

 larfe amount of starch in a much earlier stage of 

 growth than any other potato known to me, and 

 cooks dry and mealy even before having attained 

 its full size. In point of earliness the Ohio beats 

 all the older or new varieties by Jar, Gem, Sunrise, 

 etc., note.xcepted. It bears close planting, and con- 

 siderable neglect without injury. As a keeper it 

 is also by far superior to anv other early and to a 

 great manv late varieties. The Ohio certainly and 

 decidedly 'deserves of more general cultivation. 

 4> 

 Some strawberry growers are recommending 

 to burn the mulch on the bed, after the straw- 

 berries are picked, to rid the bed of rust and the 

 leaf roller. The bed will soon grow up again, 

 and the rust and insects are destroyed. 

 4" 

 A piece of reclaimed swamp Land, in a very 

 high state of cultivation (being used as an onion 

 patch for a number of years), would make us 

 the finest garden spot imaginable, but for its 

 situation, that is close proximity to my neigh- 

 bor's barn. Vt\ cannot raise anything on it 

 e-t'cept poultry, that is, the poultry of said neigh- 

 bor; and the'only way to raise that is with the 

 shotgun. I am sorely tempted to try it, or raise 

 a fuss with the old man himself. Every sum- 

 mer, for ten vears, he has promised to build a 

 picket fence along the line and around his barn- 

 vard. Last spring he said pickets and posts were 

 air ready, and the fence would be up in less than 

 no time. So I planted my experimental potato 

 patch, right on said spot. He built half the 

 fence and had to leave the rest for want of 

 material. Now his hens help me weed and 

 cultivate my e.xperimeutal garden, just as they 

 have done for the last ten years. I i)lant them, 

 they raise them— out of the ground, and eat 

 them, too (the pesky things are always hungry). 

 There is a point where forbearance ceases to 

 be a virtue, still I should hate to resort to extreme 

 measures. I might place pieces of potato soakeii 

 in Paris Green water among the vines, to get rirf 

 of the potato bugs, and believe the hens would 

 a"lso, and verv quickly leave, but though I 

 would not pitv mv neighbor, 1 dislike wholesale 

 murder, I pity the hens, and will have to let 

 them scratch. A law suit does not suit my 

 notion it is too slow, too much trouble, and too 

 unsatisfactory all around. The potatoes would 

 have yielded at the rate of 500 or 600 bushels per 

 acre at the least. I should be willing to let my 

 neighbor or his hens have the whole crop from 

 the patch, but the results of carefully conducted 

 experiments are nearly all cost for one year. 



" Good Lord, deliver me from neighbors nearer 

 than a mile." 



SEEOINQ WHEAT. 

 Bii John M. Stahl, St. Zouia, Mo. 



I believe the foremost advantage of drilling 

 wheat is the ridged condition of the ground. 

 CerUin it is that it was the chief advantage in 

 the- early days of drills, for then there were no 

 perfected force-feeds, and the hoes were compara- 

 tivJlv rude, and as a result the grain was not 

 distributed more evenlv or covered more uni- 

 formlv than if broadcasted. Leaving the ground 

 ridged is no mean aid to the crops. The only 

 protection which the wheat has during the winter 

 IS the snow. It would be an ample protection 

 were it a continuous one. But snow does not lie 

 throughout the winter, and we must make the 

 mo»t of what we have. The winds blow the 

 snow off from the wheat. We feel this most in 

 the prairie States, where the wind soon drifts the 

 snoW on the treeless, level land, unless the snow 

 should be very wet. On the hilly lands of other 

 States, hill crest and sides are apt to be swept 

 bare Here we see the advantage of the ridges 

 left by the drill. In the little hollows left 

 between, the snow lies securely upon the wheat. 

 The point then is to make these ridges as 

 effective as possible. As the winter winds pre- 

 vail mostly from the north, the ridges should not 

 run north' and south, but east and west. Then 

 the wind will sweep across the ridges; otherwise 

 it will sweep along them and catch up the suow 

 in the hollows. 



The ridges should also be made as high and as 

 enduring as possible. The way to accomplish 

 this is to have the ground fine and solid ; and it 

 is in just such a seed-bed as this that wheat 

 delights. Everything is gained and nothing lost 

 by ploughing the ground early, and then keeping 

 the harrow and roller at work until every clod is 

 reduced to a powder, and the fine particles are 

 forced closely together. The more opposition 

 the ground offers to the hoes the higher will they 

 throw it into ridges, if fine ; and the finer it is the 

 more uniform the ridges will be, and the sooner 

 will they become solid. 



When we consider the importance of the ridges 

 we perceive that it is very injudicious i roll the 

 ground after the wheat has been dr jd. This 

 levels down the ridges, and by forcin the earth 

 down into the hollows, covers the gr u too deep. 

 I have never known this to be done that it did 

 not result in a plain injury to the crops. Yet 1 

 often see it recommended by agricultural writers ; 

 I think they must have been theoretical men, 

 who never stopped to think what the result of 

 rolling after drilling must be. I firmly believe 

 in running the roller just ahead of the drill, and 

 practice \vhat I believe, in this ease at least; but 

 I would never allow the roller to follow the drill. 

 Leaving the ground ridged is not the only 

 advantage drilling now has over broadcasting. 

 With the force-feed arrangement, as now im- 

 i.roved, the majority of the drills now distribute 

 the grain mucli more uniformly than can be done 

 by hand. If the ground is at all rough, lumpy, 

 and uneven, it is imjiossible to broadcast the seed 

 evenlv Though it fall as it should, that striking 

 against clods and ridges will fall into the depres- 

 sions. Then very few, if any men, can throw 

 grain in such a manner that it will fall evenly 

 upon the ground ; and if there is a breeze blowing 

 the grain will be distributed more unevenly. It 

 is scarcely possible to place grain more evenly 

 than it is 'done by a good force-feed drill. 



The drill will cover the seed at a more uni- 

 form depth than will broadcasting, no matter 

 how often the ground is Iiarrowed or brushed 

 after the grain has been broadcasted upon it, 

 some seed will reniiiin on the surface, while the 

 balance will be covered at nil depths not exceed- 

 ing, say, six inches. That left upon the surface, 

 will not of course, germinate; and not a little 

 will be covered so deep that the plant never will 

 reach the surface, while many of the plants that 

 do will be so weakened by their long journey 

 that thev will be crowded down by their nicjre 

 fortunate neighbors. Hence seed is saved by 

 drilling When broadcasted, more seed must be 

 used per acre than when drilled. On ]>roperlv 

 prepared ground, a drill will cover the grain very 

 uniformly. The hoes will run at very nearly the 

 same dep'th, and nearly the same amount of dirt 

 will fall back upon each grain of seed. Herein 

 we see the advantage of a properly prepared seed- 

 bed In fact, it is apparent in every operation of 

 seeding. When the ground it fitted rightly, the 

 seed can be put in the ground in much belter 

 shape than wliere the ground is rough. 



I cannot see the advantages of clods on grountl 

 where the wheat is drilled. Cloddy ground 

 spoils the ridges and the uniform covering of the 

 seed Where wheat is broadcasted, I believe 

 ground slightly cloddy is the best, for snow will 

 be held in tlie depressions between the c ods 

 (iust where the wheat will fiUl), and as theelods 

 are mellowed down by the frost during the win- 

 ter the disintegrated earth will fall upon the 

 root of the wheat which the frost is continually 

 heaving above ground. But drill ridges accom- 

 plish both these advantages of the clods, and 



"so'^far as I know, the hoes of all wheat drills 

 are made eight inches apart. I believe larger 

 hoes ten inches, or even a foot apart, would be 

 better, and nearly every farmer to whom 1 have 

 mentioned the matter has agreed with me. Lar- 

 ger hoes placed farther apart would throw up 

 better and more enduring ridges, and the sun 

 could better penetrate among the wheat. 



I have frequently sowed wheat on ground so 

 stumpy that it was impossible to drill it. Such 

 ground I have ridged with diamond corn plows. 

 The ground is thus plowed in "lands. In the 

 middle of the "land" two furrows are made at 

 the start, throwing the dirt out, or in ojiposite 

 directions. The next furrows are run in the 

 same way, about six inches from the first. In 

 this way the work is continued constantly work- 

 ing tow'ards the outside of the land. Plows cut- 

 ting six or seven inches should be nsed These 

 will leave furrows four or five inches wide, ami a 

 high ridge six inches wide between them. Ihe 

 wheat is sown broadcast on these ridges and 

 covered with a light brush. This is almost 

 equivalent to drilling. If the ground is properly 

 prepared, and care taken in making the furrows, 

 the furrows will be of the same depth ; and as the 

 grain falls or bounces into the furrows, it will be 

 covered uniformly, while fair ridges will be left 

 after covering, to hold the suow. 



Broadcasting is a poor way to sow wheat oa 

 our Western jirairies. wiiere the land is level^ 

 there are no protecting tinil>er belts, the winds 

 are strong, and the suowfuU is never great. If 

 answers better in the eastern and north-eastera 

 States; but even in those 1 consider drilling a- 

 much better way of seeding wheat. 



We do not pay that attention to the selectioa 

 of seed that we should. Some of my neighbors 

 are very sure that wheat turns to cheat, but it 

 has never done so for me, for I never sow cheat;: 

 and having never raised any, there is none in the 

 ground to germinate when conditions are favora- 

 ble. Cheat is a much more hardy plant than 

 wheat, and the seed has greater vitality ; hence a. 

 seed rarely tails to germinate or a plant to grow, 

 stool, and mature, and as a result cheat will gain 

 very fast upon wheat. He who sows cheat, can 

 understand what it is to sow the wind and reap 

 the whirlwind. This is equally true of rye. 

 The seed of rye has more vitality, and the plant 

 more vigor tlian of wheat. Almost every seed of" 

 rye is sure to mature a good stool. When we 

 consider that if wheat were, without the loss of a 

 grain, to stool and head moderately well, it 

 would increase six hundred fuld, and that where- 

 we sowed a bushel, we would reap six hundred, 

 we can underslaml how clieat and rye, which d» 

 stool and head moderately well, can gain so fast 

 upon the wheat. " Wha't-soever a man soweth,, 

 that shall he reap," and nothing more ; sow pure- 

 wheat, and that alone. 



Sowing shrunken seed is shortsighted policy, 

 though often done. Shrunken grains are not so 

 good for seed as jilump grains. The substance ot" 

 the grain is a wise provision of nature to nourish 

 the idant until it can expand its foliage above- 

 ground, until which time it cannot utilize the 

 food in the soil. A shrunken grain may be con- 

 sumed before the )dant reaches above ground, 

 and the j)laiit must die. 



GARDENING IN FLORIDA. 

 Bi; II'. C. S. 



^nn scrap Pictures, no 2 alike. & .set of 4 largp Artv. 

 lOOsSrdSfor IOC. C. C. DePUY, Syracuse, N. Y . 



"Joseph" has written about " Golden Oppor- 

 tunites in the South," in glowing colors. 



I do not know that he has overdrawn his de- 

 scription, or exaggerated in his statements as to- 

 what can he done. Indeed I am sure that many 

 of them might be realized in Florida. In fact 

 many are already enjoying the fruit of their labor 

 in golden harvests. 



Several things, however, are indispensible to- 

 success. First and most important in the list I 

 jilaee industry, second, patience, third, jiersever- 

 ance, fourth, experience, or lacking that, a wil- 

 lingness to learn from those who have had! 

 experience, fifth, capital, or lacking this, then, 

 the muscular ability to do io^s of hard work. I 

 will speak more fully, as to these items, beiore I 

 close. 



(Jrange growing in Florida has attracted sO' 

 much attention throughout tlie North, that mc-st 

 people there seem to think that that is tlie only 

 industry of the State. But the truth is that there- 

 are nearly as many engaged in growing straw- 

 berries and vegetables for northern markets as in 

 growing oranges. I have no statistics available- 

 for comparison, but I am sure that the receipts- 

 from the sale of berries and vegetables by the- 

 gardeners in this State, would make a very 

 respectable showing beside the income from the 

 orange crop. A very large proportion of those 

 who are starting orange g«)ves here, have not 

 suflicient means to be able T.o devote themselves- 

 entirely to their groves for the ten or fifteen years 

 which "are necessary to produce a paying or even 

 a self-supporting grove. Very many put every 

 available dollar int« their grove within the first 

 year or two. As orange trees seldom make any- 

 return f jr four or five years, and hardly a profita- 

 ble crop under ten years, it becomes necessary for 

 the owners to resort to some other means of sup- 

 iiort Thus it happens that many groves are 

 planted with vegetable crops for several years 

 usually until thetrees shade the ground so much, 

 that ilo other crop can be profitably grown- 

 among them. . 



Fruit growing and market gardening are car- 

 ried on so differently in Florida, from the same 

 business at the North, that a successful man there 



might easily fail here, at least the first year, 



unless he was unusually meek and willing to 



iTTlt A I, WOU I.D. superb, lll'sfd. ?1 monthl.v, free- 

 1 , car Now "or ?1 " ad. and 21c. Highland Park. III. 



0X5.(1-4 PRICE) 2 ANT 



l-RATTLERS (MAIL) 



L. ..li^l-t^U m. Ill i% Writing (/lorouflWyfnwftf 

 'HOR T H ANDbyirmfl or personally. 



|"^o" proc.n-ed for pu™^ ^vhe^ conu^^^^^^ 

 'end for Circular. W. tJ. CHAFFi-b. Oswego, i>. i. 



'I* «HAINS. Northern-grown. New Testedi 



'U (Jlbu per A.) Wheat. Oats, Corn, Potatoe.s,. 



Vtc PureSee<l9cheRP. Plaiitsby thousands Cat- 



alogile free. J. F^AJ.ZEK. La C rogse^jVig^ 



^•InES strawberries, Blackberries^ 



etc KielTri- nii'l I'e,<'""'fi 



I'tnrs. Price-list Free. Address Joel 



Horner i Son. Merchanlville, N. J- 



SE!! 

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