^Tarcl] ^alerjdar. 



J. S. HARRIS. 



It is rarely ever that the spring is forward enough in this locality 

 to plow or plant in the orchard and nursery in March, and should 

 the frost corae out it is hardly wise to plant trees so long- before 

 vegetation will start; the roots cannot supply the moisture that 

 would be evaporated by freezing, thawing and drying winds. 



Those who have neglected to place their orders for the needed 

 supply of trees and plants should lose no time in doing so. We 

 advise purchasing as near home as possible, for the reasons: first, 

 the trees will generally be received in better condition; second, the 

 cost of transportation will be very much less. 



The orchard and nursery should be looked over at once. If any 

 limbs have been broken by winds or accumulations of snow and ice, 

 make a smooth wound and cover with grafting wax. Trees that are 

 girdled with mice or rabbits, if well banked up with earth or the 

 injured parts covered by the application of a thick plaster of fresh 

 cow dung and loam, bound on bj- a coarse cloth, provided the inner 

 bark is not destroj-ed all the way around, will generally recover. 

 Where the girdling is complete, the trees can generally be saved by 

 taking shoots of the same tree, sharpened at each end. and inserting 

 them in a cut made with a chisel above and below the wound and 

 covering the wound with clay or grafting wax. 



Should the weather permit, grafting may be done about the last 

 of the month. Plums and cherries should be grafted the earliest 

 and before the buds begin to swell. Apple trees may be grafted 

 throughout the next inonth. Root-grafting should be finished up 

 as early as practical. 



If it is necessarj' to do any spring pruning, it should be done before 

 the sap and buds start, and it is in order to wash the trunks and 

 large branches with lye and soft soap reduced to the consistency of 

 thick paint. If a half ounce of carbolic acid is added to each bucket- 

 ful of the wash, it will assist in killing the eggs of insects and the 

 spores of fungi. 



Blackberries and raspberries start early and should be planted 

 early. Therefore, if the weather permits, the ground should be got 

 ready so there will be no delay when the planting time arrives. It 

 is in order now to haul and spread manure in the orchard. 



In the vegetable garden it is useless to plant seeds in the open 

 ground, but plants of cabbages, caulillower, lettuce and tomatoes 

 should be started in hotbeds, cold frames or window boxes, and 

 spare time should be utilized in securing a plenty of manure and 

 getting it ready to push business when the time for making garden 

 is at hand. 



