THE FARM AND GARDEN. 



'3 



Clippings. 



J2 is our desire to make these so f\iH and varied that every 



reader of the Farm and Garden, even though he takes 



Jio other paper can/eel in a measure acquainted 



with all the leading pnblicatUms. 



JYom *' CJanh'iitrs' Monfhlij." Philaihfphiit, 



BLACK WALNUT CULTURE. 



Mr. Graves, of Texas, ten yeaiw iigo planted ten acres 

 to walnut trees, bj' hand, two hundred to tlie acre, in all 

 two thousand trees. The lre«?s are now nine inches 

 through, and grow at the rate of an inch a j'ear, and 

 when twenty years old they will be worth ?25 a tree, 

 making the forest worth at that time §.50,000. But this is 

 not all. Last year the trees bore 400 bushels of walnuts, 

 Vvhicli brought ^^..50 per bushel, making $1000 for the ten 

 ftcres of land— good interest for land worth $16 per acre. 

 If at tlie age of twenty years half of the trees are cui 

 and sold for §25 a tree, or $25,000, the nuiS per year from 

 the remaining 1000 trees will be worth $2500 a year. 



In reply to the query "What quantity of milk should 

 a cow give to be considered profitable?" a well-known 

 dairyman answers 4500 pounds— 2800 pounds for the first 

 100 days, lOOO pounds in the 100 days following, and 700 

 pounds between the completion and that time and dry- 

 ing off. Professor Brown, of Canada, m reply to a 

 similar question, puts tlie figures at 4000 pounds for 200 

 days, and as much as i>ossible in the subsequent I(>5days, 

 and that every 100 pounds of milk should make three 

 and one-half pounds of butter. Leaving out of con- 

 fiideration the performances of phenomenal cows, 

 accurate records are at hand of native cows with records 

 of from 6500 to .HOOO pounds in the season, which shows 

 that a steady advance is being made in the yield of 

 cows. The improvement is very slow, and will continue 

 to be until farmers raise their best cows and heifer 

 calves from iheir best cows, and have the sire with a 

 mother of milking strains to more perfectly establish 

 the niilking habit. 



Fro^n" Tribii 



and Fanner," X'lr York, 

 BCD MAKING. 



As I was making the beds to-night, I thought Cperhaps 

 trying to excuse myself for being such an indolent cham- 

 bermaidi how much better it is to make them even at 

 this late hour then, as some i)ersons do, the first thing 

 after rising; for now, at least the sheets, etc., are tlior- 

 oughly aired. It is quite common among thrifty house- 

 wives, or among those who wish to have all their work 

 "done up" at an early hour, to make their beds quite 

 early; as soon, in fact, as they are vacated, taking the 

 clothes and putting them on in great hasle without 

 raising the windows or exposing them to the air. 



We know that a process called insensible iierspiratinn 

 is all the time going en in our systems, and that our gar- 

 ments are jjermeated by it and need to be often changed 

 andexposed to the purifyniginfluenceof the atmosphere 

 to render them healthful; and I believe that in one of 

 the articles of the Tribune and Farmer it was recom- 

 mended that all the garments worn during the day 

 should be removed and others substituted, and that 

 none worn through the night should be worn during the 

 day. At least it is an excellent practice; and it is Just 

 as necessary that the sheets, pillows, etc., of our beds 

 should be exposed ti> the air; but in ct)ld weather we are 

 apt to forget it, and, as I have heard old ladies say 

 "run and make them while they are warm."' But we 

 should raise the windows, remove the clothes and ex- 

 pose them and the bed to a current of fresh air until 

 the impurities shall have been removed by the purify- 

 ing influence of the atmosphere and the room filled witli 

 pure air; Inasmuch as health is more important than to 

 have the beds made early. 



Pleiisi' I'eail the Preniiuin Oiler oti past^ 1. 



From " The Canadian Breeder." 



DR. JOHN VOELCKER ON ENSILAGE. 



At the recent meeting (if the Maidstone Farmers' 

 Club, Dr. John Voelcker delivered a lecture on Ensilage. 



After treating the subject very exhaustively in its 

 various aspects, the lecturer continued:— By way of a 

 brief summary I would say that ensilage is a verj- good 

 food, but that iodder is improved in quality or value by 

 the process I hold is not and cannot be the case; and 

 whether it will pay or otherwise to make silage in 

 place of hay will depend, not upon the value of the 

 changes produced in the fodder, but upon external cir- 

 cumstances, such as the prevalence of bad weather, 

 which prevents good hay being made, or the absence of 

 sufficient food, such as roots, for winter feeding. In 

 some parts of England, for instance, the weather is so 

 uncertain that it is quite impossible to make aftermath 

 into haj-, and in other parts again, on heavy clay lands, 

 roots cannot be got to grow well, and there is, in conse- 

 quence, no food for wititer keep. In such cases ensilage 

 will prove a valuable substitute and way out of the 

 difflculty, and in thi case of continued bad weather good 



ensilage will always prove better than bad hay. When, 

 however, good hay can be made, I believe the farmer 

 will always make it. and rightly so, for it does not 

 undergo the loss consequent upon ensilaging, nor involve 

 the cost of erection of special constructions to hold it. 

 Lastly, it must be remembered that, even if coarse grass 

 may be rendered softer and more digestible by ensilage, 

 this can never put into it valuable feeding constituents 

 which it did not originally possess. On the relative cost 

 of harvesting hay and making silage experience is very 

 varied, for while the former involves the expense of 

 making the hay. it must he remembered that in ensilage 

 the cost of carting the immensely larger bulk of wet 

 grass, etc., and of subsequently storing it is very greatly 

 increased, much lime is occupied, and a larger staff of 

 han<ls required for the work. Where the number of 

 laborers is limited, the simple carrying and filling would 

 he such as to necessitate for the time the stoppage of all 

 other farm work, and if, as Mr. Henry Woods tells us, 

 we should readily grow from thirty-five to fifty tons of 

 maize to the acre, the mere work of cutting, carrying, 

 and storing this would be enough to strain the utmost 

 resources of the average farmer. Thedifference cannot 

 be too strongly borne in mind, that in hay, a crop is 

 being carried which is practically all dry and useful 

 feeding material. In fodder for silage we are carting 

 eighty or more per cent, of water, which has absolutely 

 no worth whatever; then not only do we cart this water 

 but we store it also. 



From *' Pamphlet on Potatoes, issued by Mapes Ibrrmt^ei ond 

 Peruvian iritano Go. N. K" 



MANURES. 



Any soluble salt or fertilizer, like nitrate of soda, 

 sulphates of ammonia, potash salts, kainit, acid, phos- 

 phates, plain super-phosphates, etc.. when incorporated 

 in the soil, acts as a solvent on all the plant-fuod in the 

 soil, and indirectly supplies the crop, to the extent of the 

 resources of the land, with all the remaining elements of 

 plant-food which the fertilizer applied fails to contain. 

 It exhausts the soil of everything except of those ele- 

 ments which it supplies from itso»ii i^esour-ces. While 

 the result for a season or two. from such a partial ferti- 

 lizer, particularly on a strong soil, may be apparently 

 satisfactory, yet, all the time the soil i??beingexhausted. 

 There is only a limited amount of plant-food in the soil 

 in condition to yield to the solvent action even of such 

 soluble salts as above named. If the process could be 

 kept up indefinitely it would be very different. To 

 restore ihe land when it has been made "sick," or 

 exliausted, by stimulating fertilizers, is one of the hard- 

 est and most expensive processes in farming. 



It will thus be readily seen how fertilizers have come 

 to be looked upon by most farmers as mere "stimulants," 

 "make-shifts," "good to start the crop with," whereas, 

 these same farmers are always ready to admit the ster- 

 ling manurial value and lasting eft'ects of pure bone and 

 unleacbed wood-ashes. Now, these materials, excellent 

 as they are, are just as much artificial or concentrated 

 fertilizers as any properly-made commercial manure. 

 The oidy difference being thai while hone and wood-ashes 

 (unleuchedi Ibrm a verj' tuir complete manure, supply- 

 ing some of all three of the leading plant food elements 

 —nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash— many of the 

 fertilizers sold are nothing but acid phosphate with 

 small proportion of nitrogen and enough kainit added to 

 Justify them in claiming the name of complete manure. 

 A complete manure, a manure complete in a practical 

 sense, one supplying all the leading plant-food elements 

 in full proportions necessary to meet the reqinrements 

 of the crop on average soils and in the best and varied 

 forms- as found in srable manure- <"«;) lu rtr f xfmust the 

 soil, but on the contrary, with the exception of some 

 waste of unused nitrogen, all the plant-food incredients, 

 notably phosphoric acid and potash, will last thirty year 

 and more; will, in fact, last indefinitely, until used up by 

 luiure ciops. 



by hooks which hang in the box. I do not like this. 

 Why? Well, because such a seat, though springy and 

 easy-riding is attached to the box in such a way that the 

 weight of two or three persons in it gives it a swaying 

 motion which racks the box, and soon splits it. The 

 best seat is one with springs, like those on buggies, 

 under them. A seat with these springs can be removed 

 in a moment. The other seat cannot be easily removed, 

 and two persons' help is necessary to make thp work at 

 all easy. The seat with springs under it is not in the 

 way, as the ■ one with spring bars is, and is not as 

 likely to break down. 



Have yon side boards to use on the box in harvest 

 time? You ought to have. You can make them your, 

 self. The blacksmith can put irons on the box in which 

 to slip the strips at the end and middle of the side 

 boards. With them it will be easy to pile on and draw 

 a much bulkier load than you could without them, for 

 without them your load would be in danger of losing a 

 I)art of itself on rough roads, or when driving fast. 



Of course you want your wagon to look well? Then 

 you must have a shed for it, and keep it housed from. 

 storms and the hot sun. If it gets wet, as soon as dry, 

 give all the wheels a good wash of thin oil about the 

 hubs and spokes, to prevent the next rain from soaking 

 in. Oil the axles frequently, and always use a good 

 lubricant. Poor axle grease should always be avoided. 

 It damages the wagon, for it is of no benefit, and the use 

 of it leads the farmer to think that he is properly- 

 oaring for the wagon's welfare, and the first he knows 

 the axles are worn and cut with friction. Get something 

 you know to be good, or use tallow or lard, applying it 

 as often as you think necessary. Never let the axlea 

 get gummed over with sticky substances. 



From " Country QentlfTnan," Albany, y. Y. 



MISTAKES IN TREE PLANTING. 



FJxii E. Rexford in *' ^Vrafern Ploivman,'' S\foliiir, }l(. 

 THE FARM W.'.GON. 



You have got a new wagon, '.laveyou'.' I an. glad of it. 

 for farmers, like most other persons, like to have new 

 things around them, and especially so if the new is 

 better than the old. Let u;. look at the matter. The 

 box is a stout one; hut there should be an addition made 

 to it not only asastrengihener.but as a means of preser- 

 vation, therefore what I suggest is directly in the line of 

 ecfuiomy, for whatever makes a machine last longer 

 saves money for you. Get a strip of heavy band-iron as 

 wide as the box boards are thii-k, and have holes drilled 

 in it about six inches aiiart. Then screw it to the upper 

 edges of the box all around. It jdu don't do this your 

 box will soon he marred and brokiMi into on the edges 

 by heavy articles like boards, pieces of timber, or 

 machinery which may be loaded into the wagon. With 

 thisstri)) on a box the edges camut be easily injured. 

 It will cost a few shillings, hut it will make your box 

 more durable, and you will find it a paying investment. 



What kind of a seat has tlie wagon? Oh, the o:a- 

 fashioned spring-seat in which the springs are long 

 strips of hard wood, which fasten under the box toward 

 the rear of it, by a rod running across, and are held up 



Inexperienced orchardists who purchase their trees at 

 nurseries and pay good prices for them, in their desire 

 to get their money's worth, prefer large, handsome 

 specimens. These are set out with the full spread of 

 their ample heads, without further care. The owner 

 has not particularly observed how much of the roots 

 have been taken up in digging them ; or remembered or 

 known the fact that nurserymen cannot secure more 

 than a small portion of the roots belonging to "gocwi- 

 sized trees." A long time is required for them tore- 

 cover from the check thus given them. With smaller 

 trees a much larger proportion of the roots may be 

 easily taken, and very little check occasioned in their 

 subsequent growth. Buying these large trees instead of 

 small and thrifty ones is the first mistake. 



The next error is in leaving the large trees with their 

 short roots to hold them firmly without support, and th« 

 wind sways them about, forming a hole in the soil about 

 the stems, admitting drying air, and injuring or killing 

 them. Proper staking would prevent this harm; but 

 selecting small trees with their ample roots would en, 

 tirely obviate staking. The second error is the omissior 

 of this care. 



But a greater mistake is in planting the large tree* 

 with their full, branching heads entire. The wind ha» 

 amjile purchase on them, they have more leaves than 

 than the roots can properly feed, and they are accord- 

 ingly stunted in growth. This iiarm would be avoided 

 by cutting back three-fourths or more of all the previous 

 J ear's growth before the buds swell. Trees set out side 

 by side for experiment, a part of them unpruned, and 

 another portion shortened back, have shown a striking 

 result; tlie latter sending out new growth half a foot or 

 a foot in length the first year, and the former only an 

 inch or two. The omission of cutting back is the third 

 error. 



The greatest mistake of all is in giving the young trees 

 no cultivation; allowing the soil to become hard and 

 crusted, or covered with weeds and grass. Some kinds 

 of trees feel this neglect more than others— peaches the 

 most, cherry trees the least; but with all, thl.= neglect 

 is highly detrimental. Many young and newly-set trees 

 die in consequence, and those which survive ma^-Krow 

 two or three inches, while a wide surface of well-mel- 

 lowed and clear ground will often cause the trees to 

 make two or three feet of growth, if In connection with 

 other good treatment 



We could cite numerous instances proving the truth 

 of the preceding positions. The late Br. Kennicott once 

 informed us that in purchasing trees for customers, he 

 always succeeded best with those of second or third 

 quality in appearance uml size, and at low prices, be- 

 cause he could easily induce purchasers to head them 

 back freely, but they could not he persuaded to spoil the 

 large, handsome heads of the high-priced trees by prun- 

 ing. The smaller ones had' of course, the bettei- roots, 

 as they were nfloi-e easily taken up. We have seen a 

 young and newly-set peach orchard, one portion of 

 which was neglected and the other well cultivated in 

 potatoes, none of the latter of which grew less than a 

 foot and a half, and some nearly twice as much the first 

 summer, while none of the former made shoots three 

 inches long. A writer in the Pi-actiral Furmer mentions 

 several instances where quite small trees were trans- 

 planted in the same orchards, along with fine, six-foot 

 trees, but in every case the former outgrew and outhore 

 the latter in the course of a few years. 



