16 PLAIN AND PLEASANT TALK 



when perfectly dry, and say that if so cut it need not be 

 spread, but will dry in the swath in one or two days. As 

 to the time of cutting grass, we should avoid both ex 

 tremes of very early or very late. Just before the seed of 

 timothy is ripe, is, upon the whole, the best time for this 

 best of grasses for the scythe. Clover should be cut when 

 in full blossom ; instead of spreading, the best farmers 

 make it into small cocks and leave it there to cure, which it 

 will do without shrivelling or losing its color. 



GARDEN WORK. As soon as your roses are done bloom 

 ing, if you wish to increase them, take the young shoots, 

 and about eight inches from the ground, cut, below an eye, 

 half through, and then slit upward an inch or two through 

 the pith ; put a bit of chip in to keep the slit open ; bend 

 down the branch and cover the portion thus operated 

 on with an inch or two of earth and put a brick upon 

 it. It will soon send out roots, and by October may be 

 separated from the parent plant. Quinces, gooseberries, and 

 almost all shrubs which branch near the ground, may be 

 propagated in this way. Still keep down weeds. Sow suc 

 cessive crops of corn, peas and salads, for fall use. Begin 

 to gather such seeds as ripen early. Take up tulips, hya 

 cinths, etc., as soon as the tops wither. 



8. WORK FOR AUGUST. If during this hot month you w T ill 

 clear out fence corners, and cut off vexatious intruders, the 

 sun will do all it can to help you kill them. If your wheat 

 is troubled with the weevil, thrash it out and leave it in the 

 chaff. It will raise a heat fatal to its enemy without injur 

 ing itself. Every farmer should have a little nursery row 

 of apple, pear, peach and plums of his own raising. Plant 

 the seed ; when a year old, transplant into rows eight inches 

 apart in the row and two feet between the rows. During 

 July, August, and September, you may bud them with 

 choice sorts, remembering that a first-rate fruit will live just 

 as easily as a worthless sort. This is a good month to sow 

 down fallow fields to grass. Plough thoroughly harrow 



