ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND FACTS FOR THE PEOPLE. 553 



The land should be made deep and 

 (rich, the richer the better, particularly in 

 the hills; the best manure being com- 

 posted hen-droppings. The soil should 

 contain a sufficient amount of sand to 

 make it quick and warm, and a piece of 

 land should be selected sloping well to 

 the south, so that the rays of the spring 

 sun can be quickly felt by the young 

 plants. 



Plant in rows at least sixteen feet 

 apart, in hills from eight to ten feet ; put- 

 ting from two to three seeds in a hill, and 

 when well started thin out to one plant. 

 Cultivate thoroughly all the ground be- 

 tween the rows, as well as around the 

 plants, until the vines cover the ground. 

 If the above hints are followed a good 

 crop will result. 



STUMPS, To Pull.— Stumps of two to 

 four inches m ay be pulled out by a yoke 

 •of oxen, by hitching the chain at the top 

 •of the stump, and taking two or three 

 turns around it so as to get a twisting pull 

 upon it. Large stumps, up to eight 

 inches, may all be pulled out by using a 

 block and tackle. Blocks of three sheaves 

 should be used, and a rope sufficiently 

 strong for the purpose. A hitch should 

 be taken upon the largest stump, and all 

 those around it drawn out, when another 

 large stump may be chosen to hitch to. 



Some scientific Frenchmen have been 

 trying experiments in extracting them by 

 means of dynamite, an explosive mate- 

 rial resembling gunpowder in its action. 

 The results were quite satisfactory. A 

 hole from nine to fifteen inches in depth 

 was drilled in the ground close to the 

 stump, and a charge of eight hundred 

 grains of dynamite was placed in it This 

 was exploded by means of a safety fuse, 

 and the stump and roots were torn to 

 fragments, so that they could easily be re- 

 moved. 



TRANSPLANTING During the Night. 

 — A gentleman anxious to ascertain the 

 effect of transplanting at night, instead of 

 "by day, made an experiment with the fol- 

 lowing results : He transplanted ten 

 ■cherry trees while in bloom, commencing 

 at four o'clock in the morning. Those 

 transplanted during the daylight shed 

 their blossoms, producing little or no 

 fruit, while those planted in the dark 

 maintained their condition fully. He did 

 l'^.c same with ten dwarf trees, after the 



fruit was one-third grown. Those trans- 

 planted during the day shed their fruit; 

 those transplanted during the night per- 

 fected their crop, and showed no injury 

 from having been removed. With each 

 of these trees he removed some earth 

 with the roots. The incident is fully 

 vouched for, and if a few more similar 

 experiments produce a like result, it will 

 be a strong argument to horticulturists, 

 etc., to do such work at night. 



TREES, Oak. — The process of deforest- 

 ing our lands upon the Atlantic border 

 has gone on for centuries, and in the 

 very populous States has necessitated re- 

 planting. It is a fact not sufficiently 

 known, that oaks may be rapidly grown, 

 and will develop, within an ordinary life- 

 time, fine groves of those noble trees 

 which give so much dignity to an old 

 homestead. Major Ben. Perley Poore 

 has upon his estate in Massachusetts, a 

 splendid oak forest or wood of thirty 

 acres, every acorn for which was planted 

 by himself thirty years ago. The trunks 

 of the trees are now one and a half feet 

 in diameter. 



TOMATOES, Cultivation of.— Set your 

 tomato plants in rows three and a half 

 feet apart, and the same distance apart 

 in the rows. Let the rows be of an even 

 number, and, if possible, running north 

 and south, for the better advantage of the 

 sunshine. 



Now, beginning with the first couple of 

 rows, at one end set a pair of stakes in 

 such manner that they will enter the 

 ground just outside of the line of the 

 rows, and cross each other at the height 

 of about four feet over the middle space. 

 Set corresponding stakes at the opposite 

 end of the rows, and also intermediate 

 ones, if necessary. 



This clone, along the outside of these 

 sloping stakes fasten horizontal strips of 

 edging, beginning with the first about 

 eight inches from the ground, and finish- 

 ing with the one which will run in the 

 crossing of the stakes. 



As the plants grow, carefully train 

 them over this framework, securing them 

 in place by tying with strings, and judi- 

 ciously trimming when needed. 



After the crop is removed in the fall, 

 the material of this simple structure may 

 be easily taken apart and laid away for , 

 use the coming and subsequent seasons. 



