1858. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



315 



PLASTER FOR POTATOES — TIME TO SET YOUNG 

 APPLE TREES AND TO PRUNE OLD ONES. 



I wish to inquire on what land it is best to ap- 

 ply plaster, wet or dry ? 



Also, what is the best time for setting young 

 apple trees, and for trimming old trees ? Is it 

 best to put manure under young trees, or to set 

 them without any ? 



A Subscriber in Vermont. 



Remarks. — Use the plaster on your dry land. 

 Set young apple trees in the spring any time be- 

 fore the leaves start — but if more convenient set 

 them in the autumn, after the leaves have fallen. 

 Old, well rotted compost will be useful about the 

 roots, but if the manure is all fresh put it away 

 from the roots about the sides of the hole which 

 has been dug to receive the trees. Apply fresh 

 manure in the autumn, and dig it under two or 

 three inches below the surface. 



1^^ Never prune an apple tree in the months of 

 March, April or May. All the borers in the 

 world do not commit half the havoc in our orch- 

 ards, that the pruning-knife and saw do, applied 

 at the wrong season of the year. In the spring 

 the sap is abundant, thin and active, and where 

 limbs are taken off it passes through the pores 

 of the wood to the surface, and coming in con- 

 tact with the atmosphere, becomes bitter and ac- 

 rid, runs down the bark and poisons it, so that it 

 is often killed quite into the wood. This is what 

 causes most of the black lines so frequently seen 

 on apple trees, and which, in thousands of cases, 

 ends in the death of the tree. 



Old men persist in pruning in the spring, be- 

 cause they think it the most convenient time, 

 and because their fathers did. Young men may 

 entertain no fears that there will be too much 

 orcharding, so long as old men continue the hab- 

 it of mutilating and poisoning their trees. 



CANKER "WORMS. 



In reading your last Farmer, I was informed 

 that the canker worm had hatched ; let me advise 

 that as soon as they are large enough to string 

 down by their webs, and before the trees are 

 much damaged, tar the trees, then with a pole or 

 otherwise, give the limbs a sudden jar, and the 

 worms will string down by their webs ; then with 

 a pole strike them down to the ground, and in a 

 little while you will find them stuck in the tar as 

 they attempt to ascend the tree. Take a warm 

 day to dislodge them, beginning about 10 o'clock, 

 A. M. Employ all hands while the work is going 

 on, and not leave until every worm is on the 

 ground, and the trees are safe. 



Bockville, May 22, 1858. P. W. Miller. 



VERMONT AHEAD. 



Mr. Isaac Ali en, of Salisbury, Addison Co., 

 Vt., fattened a pii^, which was killed April 15th, 

 at 360 days old, and when dressed weighed_/;i'e 

 hundred and ninety -four pounds. 



E. H. Weeks. 



EGGS OF THE GUELDERLAND FOWLS. 



Can you, or any of your subscribers, inform me 

 where I can obtain eggs of the pure Guelderland, 

 or Devereux fowls ? G. 



Marblehead, Mass., May 3, 1858. 



SALT FOR MANGOLD WURTZELS. 



I would like to know the meaning of "Don't 

 forget the salt," in Mr. Lowes' letter to Mr. 

 French, with regard to mangolds. I am planting 

 some this spring, and others are turning their 

 attention to the mangold wurtzel in this vicinity. 



Norwich, Vt., May, 1858. W. D. Baxter. 



Real\rks. — Salt, in England, is considered one 

 of the best dressings for this crop — Mr. Lowe is 

 of opinion that it will invariably greatly increase 

 it 



For the New England Farmer. 

 UNDEKDRAINING. 



Much has been said and written upon the sub- 

 ject of land drainage, and with some effect; but 

 if we are to judge from the thousands of acres 

 that now lie waste in every State in the Union, it 

 would seem that there is yet room for much to 

 be done. 



Probably, every owner of a large farm has many 

 acres of land now entirely useless, on which noth- 

 ing is grown but coarse grass or other semi- 

 aquatic plants, which might, with a little judi- 

 cious expenditure, be brought into a state fit for 

 growing any useful product of the soil — and, in- 

 deed, be the best land for farming or gardening 

 purposes. 



Land drainage is becoming a science, and will 

 yet be practiced very extensively in the United 

 States ; not only will the land, now flooded with 

 water, be reclaimed, but much of the upland, 

 which now bears moderate crops but has a tena- 

 cious subsoil holding stagnant water within a few 

 inches of the surface, will be made earlier, light- 

 er and warmer by thorough drainage ; and the 

 farmer will find it a profitable investment, pay- 

 ing a much greater per cent, for the money in- 

 vested, than bank stock, railroad stock or rented 

 houses. 



Much of our swamp land lies very level, and 

 many owners consider their pai'ticular pieces un- 

 drainable, "because there is no fall," — they may 

 even have dug a few ditches hither and thither 

 over the piece, but to no purpose, for want of a 

 good outlet, the one made being, perhaps, on the 

 highest part of the land. Unless an instrument 

 has been put upon the land and the inclination 

 carefully determined, the owner's impression can- 

 not be depended upon, and in such a case is usu- 

 ally erroneous. It may be impossible for the un- 

 aided eye to detect the slightest descent in any 

 direction, and yet the land have a sufficient in- 

 clination for thorough drainage. A few minutes' 

 work with a spirit level would settle this ques- 

 tion, and leave the farmer with some practical 

 knowledge of the inclination of his land and the 

 proper course for his drains. 



There is no danger that too much water will 

 be taken from the land, for all soils which are so 

 tenacious as to need draining at all, will hold in 

 suspension as much water as can be used by the 



