288 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



long been in search of the promised land, and yet 

 nowhere is there such highly cultivated land, and 

 Western men, Avlicn here, seem to think, as I have 

 heard themeay, that they know nothing about liv- 



ing. There was only one Eden — there )8 only one 

 New England, and it is not best to permit any 

 spirit to make the dwellers discontented with 

 their homes. 'Aguicola. 



EXPANDING AND REVERSABLE 

 TOOTH CULTIVATOR. 



As the season opens upon us, and the laud is 

 becoming fit for the plow and other implements 

 used for lightening it, we wish to lay before the 

 reader such improved forms of them as have come 

 to our knowledge, and as we believe will be pleas- 

 ant and profitable for him to use. The plow and 

 horse-hoe have been already given this spring, 

 and now we introduce the Expanding and Revers- 

 able Tooth Cultivator. We prefer the Horse-Hoe 

 to any implement of this kind, but some may choose 

 the one repesented above. The expanding imple- 

 ments will become more or less loose and rickety, 

 and are inclined to run out at the sides, making 

 them hard for the person who holds them. The 

 Horse Hoe runs straight, is easily guided, and by 

 running it twice in the row, that is, out and 

 back in the same row, will accomplish more good 

 work than any other implement we have ever 

 used. 



The implement figured alove is highly approved 

 Ijy some farmers. The points or shares of the 

 teeth are made of steel or cast iron, and are fas- 

 tened to the shank or standard by bolts and nuts, 

 so that cither kind of shares may be used on the 

 game standard, clieaply replaced when worn, and 

 one substituted for the other. The shares being 

 also revcrsable, are thereby very enduring, as when 

 one end is too much worn to be effective, they 

 may be changed to the other end down, and a 

 double amount of service obtained. 



The tioth represented at the left, in the fig- 

 ure of teeth detached, is made of all steel, and 

 known as "Roger's Patent," and may be used, 

 but requires a different mortice ; the centre tooth 

 is cast iron, and fits the same mortice as the steel 



pointed above described, 

 furnished separately. 



The various teetli are 



MULCHING GOOSEBERRIES. 



In the August number of the Western Horticul- 

 tural Review we find the following letter from j\Ir. 

 John N. Brower, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., on the 

 subject of mulching gooseberries : 



I beg your acceptance of a small sample of 

 gooseberries from my garden, which, from their 

 fine size and flavor as well as their perfect freedom 

 from rust or mildew, will prove that, by proper 

 cultivation, this delicious fruit may be raised with 

 perfect ease and in the highest perfection. I re- 

 member, several years since, while you were visit- 

 ing us, that you suggested the use of soapsuds or 

 some alcalime wash, as a remedy for the mildew 

 or blast which has so generally affected this fruit, 

 and for the preservation of which many applica- 

 tions had been used but without success. I tried 

 them all, but in vain; scarcely a berry out of 

 hundreds would escape the rust, and many of my 

 bushes dwindled and became worthless. 



Some years ago, observing the extremely luxu- 

 riant and profuse growth of the off-shoots or suck- 

 ers, in the early spring and during the fruiting 

 season, which the gooseberry bark put forth, and 

 that the rust never made its appearance until they 

 had attained some size and in such quantity as to 

 abstract a large proportion of the nutriment af- 

 forded by the root, an idea, occurred to me that 

 the diseased condition of the bush and fruit was 

 the result, not of moisture, or sun, an insect rava- 

 ger, or want of adaptation of soil, but simply a 

 lack of nutriment, or, in professional phrase, an 

 atrophy of the plant and fruit, by reason of the 

 large proportion of sap consumed by an useless 

 amount of woody fiber and leaf, and which was 

 necessary for the full and perfect development of 

 the fruit. Acting upon this impression, I pruned 

 very liberally, and throughout the fruiting season 

 leaving no more Avood than what bore fruit, and 

 carefully removing all shoots having a light green 



