NO. 22. 



THE FARMEKS' CABINET. 



34 f> 



liong and Short Scions. 



Which are best, longer short scions'? We 

 have always supposed that a short scion, hav- 

 ing two or three buds upon it was sufficiently 

 long for the purpose of engrafting. We do 

 not know now, but they are equally as good 

 as those which are a foot in length. We 

 have, however, seen and watched the pro- 

 gress of some that were uncommonly long, 

 set two or three years ago, which have done 

 uncommonly well, while some short ones, 

 set the same season, have not done so well. 

 It is possible, however, that the difference 

 may be owing to some other cause. It is 

 well, however, to watch and observe the ope- 

 rations of nature as she carries on her silent 

 but interesting operations around us, and en- 

 deavor to treasure up as many facts as possi- 

 ble, and draw such conclusions as facts will 

 warrant to guide us in future operations. 

 We hope that those who may be engaged in 

 grafting, will experiment a little and note the 

 result. By the way, we are inclined to think 

 that the mode of engrafting by cement is not 

 so sure or safe a method as the old mode of 

 using clay composition. We may be mis- 

 taken in this, but we arc induced to draw 

 this conclusion from observation. The cement 

 does not so thoroughly protect the scion from 

 the extremes of heat and cold as does the 

 composition, and this may be one reason why 

 it has not succeeded so well in this region. 

 Many, however, still prefer it, and think it 

 is equally as good as the other, and much 

 more expeditiously applied. — Maine Farmer. 



From the American Silk Grower and Agriculturist. 



Mr. Cooke : 



Dear (Sir, — As "one of the farmers" has 

 requested the " Reverend gentleman !" (whose 

 statement concerned a half acred of corn that 

 produced 70 bushels of ears,) to give some ex- 

 planation of the mode of cultivation, you are 

 at liberty to publish the following : — 



My object, in making the statement alluded 

 to, before the Agricultural meeting, was to 

 show the importance of earhj planting on our 

 sandy soils, and the benefit of ashes on such 

 ground. 



In answer to the inquiries of *' one of the 

 farmers," I remark : 



1. That it is not known " how long the 

 land had been cleared ;" it was a pasture when 

 I purchased it. 



2. The corn was planted " in rows one 

 way," about 2^ feet apart, and the hills in each 

 row were less than 2 feet apart. 



3. The ground was ploughed about 7 inches 

 deep the October before, and not at all in the 

 spring. It was harrowed, and then furrowed 

 for planting. 



4. I usually put .3 or 6 kernels of corn in a 



iiill ; and at first hoeing reduce the plants to 

 four by pulling up the least thrifty. 



5. 'i he manure used was a compost of de- 

 cayed chips, clay and barn-yard Jmannre — 

 one shovel-full to a hill. 



6. The ashes were applied some days before 

 the first hoeing. 



7. The season was pretty dry in .Tuly, but 

 as the ground had not been ploughed in the 

 spring, there was no injury from the drought. 



8 and 9. The corn was hoed three times» 

 and " hilled" but little. 



10. No instrument was used in dressing it 

 but a hoe. Ploughing between corn is always 

 injurious to the roots. It also, hurts potatoes- 

 in dry seasons by making the ground more 

 dry. 



11. A part of the stalks were cut for my 

 horse, and the rest were left till the corn. 

 was ripe. 



Having thus disposed of the questions pro- 

 posed, I will add, that I have uniformly found 

 that autumnal ploughing is the best for our 

 plains, with harrowing in the spring. The 

 drought never injures a crop on land thus pre- 

 pared. Even beds for beets, carrots, &c. 

 should be prepared in the autumn, and only 

 raked ' in the spring. The roots grow 

 straighter and longer, and^wilhout the radi- 

 cles that are so apt to injure then. 



As a proof that potatoes do best with gk- 

 tumnal ploughing and early planting, I would 

 mention, that on a piece of land in my garden 

 5 rods by 42 1 raised 86 bushels in one year. 

 The land was not even furrowed in the spring ; 

 but holes were dug for the manure the last 

 week in April, and planted inrmediately. 

 They were planted"in hills" at about the same 

 distances as the corn above mentioned, and, 

 after the rirst hoeing, a small quantity of ashe.^ 

 upon a narrow shingle put upon each hill 

 around the potatoes. They were hoed three 

 times. 



Another fact that is important, is, the earlier 

 the potatoes are, the better they are for 

 summer, autumn, winter and spring. Those 

 whose tops are green when the frost comes, 

 are positively unhealthy. It is a great 

 object to have them ripen in hot weather. 

 Yours respectfully, 



Z. S. Barstow. 



Keene, 20th April, 1837, 



To Destroy Ticks on Iianib&> 



Boil tobacco in a large kettle ; then put 

 some of the liquor in a tub, adding water to 

 it, and after wetting a lamb, let a boy hold 

 him, standing on his feet in the tub, then 

 squeeze out all the liquor you can. A man 

 and boy can wash thirty, after the liquor is 

 prepared, in two hours. 



