1882.1 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



301 



clear to our mind that there is no other remedy 

 than shaking the trees, and this is not a severe 

 or expensive remedy when systematically at- 

 tended to. 



Plant fruit trees as early as possible. Deep 

 planting is an injury, though they can be set 

 with more impunity deeper in sand than clayey 

 soil. Mound the earth about the stems ; it 

 aids against drawing out by frost. Ram the 

 earth very tightly about the roots, and prune the 

 twiggy branches from the tops. Severe pruning 

 at transplanting is the best insurance against 

 loss. 



If older trees have moss, or scale, or have had 

 red spider in the summer, prune away the twig 

 gy portions, and wash with whale-oil soap and 

 sulphur. Grape vine stems may be peeled of old 

 loose bark and washed in the same manner. 

 Grapes may also be pruned at once, and if in a 

 region where they are liable to suffer from frost 

 in winter, bend the stems down and cover with 

 earth. Where Raspberries are also liable to 

 winter kill, cut back one-fourth of the wood, and 

 bend and bury in like manner. Where Straw- 

 berries are liable to draw by frost, it is best 

 to cover them with straw or some dry material. 

 These are often injured by covering with ma- 

 nure or other material which favors dampness, 

 and strawberries are often injured by it. They 

 hate damp. 



There is little else to be done in the fruit gar- 

 den at this season, except gathering and preser- 

 ving late crops of Apples and Pears, and preser- 

 ving them for winter. 



In no department of gardening is a deep and 

 rich soil more important than in Vegetables ; 

 and at this season we could not give better advice 

 than to lose no opportunity of improving it in this 

 respect. Trenching may be carried on whenever 

 the ground is not frozen over an inch in depth. 

 We are not in favor of that species of trenching 

 which throws the surface soil to the bottom and 

 brings the sub soil to the top, in the preparation 

 of a new garden. This should only be adopted 

 for worn-out soils. The proper plan is to throw 

 out the surface-soil on a strip three feet wide, 

 then breaking up the sub-soil thoroughly to the 

 depth of one or one and a half feet. On this 

 broken sub-soil the surface-soil from the next 

 trench is thrown, and so on until the whole be 

 finished. The manure should be so applied as 

 to be worked in with the surface-soil, as the 

 work proceeds. It is little use to attempt to grow 

 vegetables unless the soil is so treated. They 



may be and are grown on thin soils, not only at 

 a great expense for manure, and a great risk of 

 dying out in a dry season, and of having the roots 

 rotted out in a wet one. As long as the frost, 

 severe enough to injure the celery crop, keeps 

 away, it may have earthings up. Care must be 

 exercised in the operation not to let the earth 

 get into the hearts of the plants, or they will be 

 liable to rot. When the plant has evidently fin- 

 ished its growth for the season, measures should 

 be taken to preserve it through the winter. For 

 family use, it is probably as well to let it stay 

 where it is growing, covering the soil with leaves, 

 litter or manure, to keep out the frost, so that it 

 can be taken up as wanted. Where large quan- 

 tities are frequently required, it is better to take 

 it up and put it in a smaller compass, still pro- 

 tecting it in any way that may be accessible. It 

 always keeps best in the natural soil, where it is 

 cool and moist, and free from frost; and what- 

 ever mode of protection is resorted to, these facts 

 should be kept in view. Beets, turnips, and other 

 root crops will also require protection. They 

 are best divested of their foliage and packed in 

 layers of sand in a cool cellar. Parsnips are best 

 left in the soil as long as possible. If any are 

 wanted for late spring use, they may be left out 

 to freeze in the soil, and will be much improved 

 thereby. Cabbage is preserved in a variety of 

 ways. If a few dozen only, they may be hung 

 up by the roots in a cool cellar, or be buried in 

 the soil, heads downwards, to keep out the rain, 

 or laid on their sides as thickly as they can be 

 placed, nearly covered with soil, and then com- 

 pletely covered with corn-stalks, litter, or any 

 protecting material. The main object in protect- 

 ing all these kinds of vegetables is to prevent 

 their growth by keeping them cool as possible, 

 and to prevent shrivelling by keeping them 

 moist. Cabbage plants, lettuce, and spinage will 

 require a slight protection before hard freezing. 

 This is usually done by scattering straw loosely 

 over. The intention is principally to check 

 the frequent thawings, which draw the plants out 

 of the ground. 



In making new vegetable gardens, a south-east 

 aspect should be chosen, as far as practicable. 

 Earliness in the crops is a very great desideratum, 

 and such an aspect favors this point materially. 

 Too great a slope is objectionable, as inducing 

 too [great a run of water in heavy rains. The 

 plots for the crops should be laid off in squares or 

 parallelograms, for convenience in digging, and 

 the edges of the walks set with box edging. If 



