12 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



COVERING MANURE FROM THE WEATHER. 



We have always advocated having a cover 

 over tlie manure heap, and have contended 

 that manure so covered is worth a great deal 

 more than manure spread out in the barnyard 

 in the usual way. A correspondent of one 

 of our papers takes exception to this. He as- 

 serts that uncovered is just as good as covered 

 manure, provided the rains are kept from 

 reaching it. He says that a heap of uncov- 

 ered manure will be just as good as a heap of 

 covered, if there has been no rain on it ; and 

 in this way he writes what we suppose is in- 

 tended to be an argument against covering 

 manure. We might also state that in this 

 sense we could urge there was no use in cover- 

 ing manure. But as we cannot keep the rain 

 off without some covering, it is hard to see 

 what the argument amounts to. If the corre- 

 spondent in question would show how to keep 

 the rain from washing away all the best of the 

 manure without covering, we could better un- 

 derstand the point he makes. Until this is 

 done, we shall still advocate covering manure. 



It is certain that the land plowed in the 

 autumn will, all other things being equal, 

 yield better than that broken in spring. This 

 is partly because thorough teration of its soil 

 is essential to its fertility, partly because the 

 frost has freer action to break up the minute 

 minerals and hasten their disintegration and 

 the consequent liberation of mineral elements 

 of fertility, and partly because in the loosened 

 earth the surplus water drains quicker away, 

 and the warmth of the sun penetrates sooner 

 and deeper. But many fall-plowed fields are 

 so situated that surface water collects in hol- 

 lows, and these nullify all tlie rest ; carefully 

 drawn open furrows for such places should be 

 the subject of the first work in spring. In 

 newly plowing land run the furrows in such a 

 direction as to facilitate drainage, and run the 

 shovel as deep (and no deeper) as it can go 

 without turning up the cold, unfertilized and 

 lumpy subsoil. It will pay. 



dry cellar that does not freeze, if some care be 

 taken. They do not need much water, but 

 must be as cool as possible, without freezing. 

 If care be taken to give them air in fine weatlier, 

 and a little water at long intervals, just enough 

 so that the earth does uot become really dry, 

 there will be but little trouble in wintering 

 them nicely. 



Many plants, after being wintered all right, 

 are killed by putting them out of doors too 

 early in the spring. We have known large 

 oleanders to be killed dead in the spring from 

 exposure to frost a single night when the ther- 

 mometer marked twenty-four degrees. The 

 same plants had withstood a lower tempera- 

 ture in the cellar during the winter. When 

 taken from the cellar they should be carefully 

 guarded from frost in the spring until the 

 last of May or first of June, according to lati- 

 tude, aud although tender plants will stand a 

 considerable degree of cold in the cellar, it is 

 better that they be kept from actual frost. — 

 Western liural. 



HORTICULTURAL MISCELLANY. 

 WINTERING PLANTS IN BOOMS AND CELLARS. 



Those who grow tender plants in summer 

 for ornamenting the lawns and flower beds, of 

 course like to keep them over the winter, and 

 yet, in fully nine cases out of ten, Imt little 

 success is had with those wintered in rooms, 

 and perhaps fully as little with those winteied 

 in the cellar. 



Those that are to be kept on the flower- 

 stands in rooms .should not have miich heat 

 upon first being taken in. They should be kept 

 in the coolest partof the room, but should have 

 plenty of light until well established, or until 

 they begin to make new growth. If one have 

 a bow window that may be closed tight, this 

 answers a good purpose, since the sun may be 

 admitted above and the plants may be kept 

 shaded below. If you have hot-bed ashes aud 

 a frame, a little bottom heat, say ten inches 

 of manure covered with enough sand in which 

 to plunge the pots, and keeping the sash pretty 

 close and shaded until the roots of the plants 

 begin to draw and send moisture tf) the to]is, 

 will answer a very good purpose. Keep them 

 covered warmly at night, aud, as they begin 

 to grow, give air and water, and at the end of 

 a month they may be taken into the room and 

 with little care they will give much satisfaction. 



Do not give too much water to window plants 

 or those kept on a stand in the room. The soil 

 should be kept moist, of course, but frequent 

 and light syringings will tend to obviate the 

 excessive dryness of living rooms. This is the 

 great difficulty with plants wintered in this 

 manner, aud toassi.stiu neutralizing this trou- 

 ble as much as possible, a vase or basin of 

 water should be kept constantly on the stove 

 or heater to supply this lack of moisture. 



Geraniums, pleargoniums, tender roses, and 

 other tender or half-hardy, woody or half- 

 woody perennials may be kept in a light, cool, 



SPRING RADISHES. 



are never so good in quality, because being 

 later in coming into use. 



Most people sow thick because they have no 

 faith in the seedsman. They think some of 

 the seeds are bad, and they want to allow for 

 it. But we have not found seedsmen such 

 irredeemable fellows as many suppose. It is 

 rarely we have seeds to fail. When they do, 

 it is generally through deep planting. Radish 

 seed particularly likes to be kept near the 

 surface. If the seed is sown while the ground 

 is still moist from the digging or preparing, it 

 may be merely sown on the surface and then 

 rolled or beaten in. Then every seed will 

 grow, and only those seeds may be sown just 

 where a plant is to come up to mature. — Ger- 

 mantown Telegraph. 



WINTER CARE OF TREES. 



Where trees are purchased in the fall, many 

 of them are lost through want of proper care 

 during the winter months, and for this reason 

 many wait till spring before buying. If trees, 

 especially small ones, are properly cared for 

 through the winter, it is better to get them in 

 the fall ; or, if they are grown on the place, 

 and to be re-planted in the spring, they are 

 better to be taken up at the approach of cold 

 weather and heeled in. This operation of 

 heeUng is simple, easy, and puts the trees in 

 the very best condition for keeping through 

 *the winter — as, when they are thus treated, 

 there is no danger of heaving out by frost, and 

 the ends of the roots become well calloused 

 and are ready to begin a fresh growth at once, 

 when planted in spring. To heel in trees 

 projierly, dig a trench, say three feet wide, 

 and deep enough to cover the trees, a foot or 

 so above the top of the roots. Before the 

 trees are placed in the trench, the roots should 

 be dipped in what nurserymen call grout, and 

 other people call thin mud. This gives each 

 root and fibre a coating of fine earth. This 

 done, place one row of trees against the back- 

 side of the trench, leaning against the edge, 

 and as thickly as they can well stand, then 

 carefully sprinkle fine earth from the front of 

 the trees, among aud around the roots, taking 

 pains that no air holes are left— pack the earth 

 down firmly— there is no danger of it l)eing 

 too solid ; and when this row is finished, the 

 trench for the next row is ready. The great 

 point is to have the earth filled in closely 

 around every root, and well packed down. 

 If this is done, the trees will be in better con- 

 dition for planting in the spring than if they 

 had been allowed to spend the winter where, 

 they grow. If we were purchasing trees from 

 a distance, we would ranch prefer to get them 

 in the fall, and have them well heeled through 

 the winter, so that we could have them ready 

 at the earliest possible moment in the spring. 

 — Cor. liural World. 



The. greatest delights of a garden are found 

 among the early spring vegetables, aud among 

 them all, the radish is one of the nio.st welcome. 

 They are tolerably hardy, and may be found 

 among the earliest sown. The great charm of 

 a good radish, like a good cigar, is in its 

 mildness, and this can^ only be secured by 

 growing it in a rich soil. For a spring radish, 

 indeecl, the soil can scarcely be too rich. This 

 hurries it up. A slow growu radish is sure to 

 be hot and stringv. 



The round radishes, or turnip-rooted, are 

 best, and the white generally more acceptable 

 than the red. The loug-rooted radishes, some- 

 times are in eating a little earlier, but to most 

 tastes are not so grateful as the other. 



In sowing radishes a too common error is to 

 put the seeds in too thick. It is thought that 

 they can be weeded if they all grow ; but they 

 are seldom thinned out, and when left thick 



PERSIMMONS AS MARKET FRUIT. 



The persimmon, in its unfrosted state, is an 

 austere, harsh fruit, which no one, unless just 

 learning to whistle, cares to indulge in. When, 

 however, it has been exposed in some frost, it 

 is generally agreeable to most tastes. A very 

 large market could be found for them in the 

 cities if they could be got in there witliout 

 mashing, but this has been hitherto found 

 impossible. A very short distance of travel 

 over a railroad, is enough to turn a basketful 

 into a shapeless mass. 



Now we think it is well worthy of thought 

 by those practical minds that are always on i 

 the lookout for something on which to make, ' 

 whether something cannot be done to turn the 

 persimmon into practical account as a market 

 fruit for great cities. Years ago it was thought 

 that the strawberry and rasi)berry could not 

 be grown to any profit away from large cities, 

 because in bulk they mash together so. But 

 Yankee genius got over this difiiculty by the 

 invention of the berry basket, by which the 

 mass of fruit was divided into small lots and 

 thus prevented from crushing ononeanotherin 

 slatted crates. The' same surely could be done 

 with the persimmon. Little shallow baskets 

 could be provided in which the persimmon 

 would lie only two courses thick. It is not 

 necessary to wait till the frost softens the 

 fruit before gatherino; them, as then they get 

 mushy in handling. But they can be gathered 

 before the frost while yet hard and firm, and 

 put in the crates, and the crates allowed to 

 freeze through. We are much mistaken if 

 quite a good trade might not be got up in 

 persimmons in this way. — Germantown Tel. 



DISEASE-PROOF POTATOES. 



It will be recollected that the Lord Cathcart 

 prize offered in England for the best essay on 

 the potato disease and its prevention, was not 

 awarded, as none of the ninety odd essays 

 presented any new facts or remedies. There- 

 upon the Royal Agricultural Society oflered a 

 prize of £100 to any one who produced an 

 early potato which remained disease-proof 

 over a trial of three years. Six different 

 varieties were entered for competition, and 

 were sent to twenty different districts in 

 England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, last 

 Spring, for trial. The result was not entirely 

 unforeseen or unsuspected. At the monthly 

 meeting held the first week in November, it 

 was reponed that not one of the six varieties 

 tested had resisted the disease. Thus the 

 trials of tiiese potatoes are concluded the first 

 year, aud a disease-proof potato is yet to be 



found. 



^ 



A HANDY GARDEN ROLLER. 



Take a joint of stove pipe, 6, 7 or 8 inches 

 in diameter; set one end upon an inch board, 

 aud witli a scratch-awl or pencil mark around 

 0)1 the outside ; reverse the pipe and mark the 

 other end. Then with a pair of compasses 

 find the centre of these two wheels, and strike 

 around their circumference, allowing for the 

 thickness of the iron. Saw or cut them true 

 and round; bore a hole with a bit in their 

 centres, to receive a shaft of half-inch round 

 iron, about three inches longer than the length 



