53^ 



FARM, ORCHARD, DAIRY AND GARDEN. 



it will form a barrier over which snails will 

 not pass. 



Lettuce in Winter. — It is said that 

 heads of lettuce can be produced in win- 

 ter in from 24 to 48 hours, by taking a 

 box filled with rich earth, in which one- 

 third part of slaked lime has been mixed, 

 and watering the earth with lukewarm 

 water; then taking seed which had been 

 previously softened by soaking in strong 

 brandy for 24 hours, and sowing in the 

 usual way. We are assured, but will not 

 vouch for the tact, that a good-sized head 

 of lettuce may be obtained in the time 

 mentioned. 



MAPLE TREES, To Tap.— Much in- 

 jury is often ignorantly and thoughtlessly 

 inflicted on sugar maple trees by excessive 

 tapping, and various negligent practices 

 in connection with the operation. As a 

 guard against such malpractice the fol- 

 lowing rules will be useful : 1. Use noth- 

 ing larger than a three-fourth inch auger 

 or bitt. One-half to five-eighths of an 

 inch is best. 2. Do not open the trees 

 until they will run equally well on all 

 sides. 3. Select the thriftiest part of the 

 tree that is farthest from an old orifice. 

 4. Never put more than one spout to a 

 tree that is less than one foot in diameter, 

 nor more than one bucket to one less 

 than eighteen inches in diameter. 5. 

 Never bore trees more than once in a 

 season, but freshen them once, or any 

 time after a long and hard freeze. 6. 

 Never leave spouts in the trees a single 

 day after they have done running. The 

 •quicker the orifices dry, the less they de- 

 cay. 



The following facts should also be re- 

 membered : The root of a tree will some- 

 times run more than the body. A healthy 

 tree runs in proportion to the size of its 

 top, and should be opened with respect 

 to its capacity for production. Trees in 

 open grounds, with spreading tops, dis- 

 charge more and much sweeter water 

 than those in a forest. 



MAPLE SUGAR, Making.— First, the 

 sweetness and cleanliness of the tubs, and 

 everything connected with the sugar 

 orchard, and without this requisite no 

 one can make the best quality of sugar. 

 And we think that tin tubs are much bet- 

 ter than wooden ones, for tin tubs are 

 easier kept clean and sweet. The sap 

 will penetrate the wood of the wooden 



tub, and sours and dries during the last 

 part of sugaring; and another advantage 

 tin has over wood is, you can gather the 

 sap earlier in the morning from the tin 

 tubs than you can from the wooden ones. 

 Most of the wooden tubs are manufac- 

 tured of timber embracing the sap as 

 well as the heart timber. This sap-wood 

 sours much quicker than the heart-wood, 

 so that heart tubs are preferable to those 

 containing the sap-wood. We notice 

 that some use wooden tubs painted in- 

 side and out, and think them preferable 

 to tin, as they do not warm the sap as 

 much in a sunny day as the tin does, and 

 will therefore keep the sap longer sweet ; 

 but the fact is that sap should not stand 

 in any tub longer than one can help, and 

 as the sap can be gathered from a tin tub 

 whenever it is warm enough for it to run, 

 and as it will keep longer in bulk if gath- 

 ered when it is cold than it will in the 

 sap tubs, it gives the tin tubs an advant- 

 age in this direction. 



Sap should be gathered and boiled as 

 soon as possible after it has left the tree. 

 This is one of the main points on which 

 good or poor sugar depends, for the lon- 

 ger sap stands after it has left the trees, 

 before it is boiled, the more color there 

 will be in the sugar. Sap should be 

 strained before it is boiled, to take out all 

 foreign substances, and in boiling it one 

 should make it a point to syrup-off quite 

 often, as the continued boiling of the 

 same sweet for a long time will color it, 

 and the boiling apparatus should be con- 

 structed with special reference to this 

 idea, and the syrup should be sugared off 

 as soon as it has stood sufficient time to 

 settle, and it should stand in tin cans, 

 and be kept in a cool, dark place, if pos- 

 sible. Sap commences to change as soon 

 as it leaves the tree, and should therefore 

 be worked up as soon as possible ; and 

 our motto should be, in making sugar, 

 first, cleanliness, secondly, expeditious- 

 ness, and thirdly, to get all foreign sub- 

 stances out of it, and to put none in, 

 either in boiling the sap or in sugaring 

 off. 



MILDEW, Sulphur for.— The efficacy 

 of sulphur in destroying and preventing 

 mildew is now well known, and it is the 

 chief reliance of the vine-grower, whether 

 he cultivates under his glass or in the 

 open air. Where sulphuring is systemati- 



