NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



not so readily as those prepared in season. When 

 seeds ai"e put into moist loam or sand early iii win- 

 ter they do not need to freeze. Soak peach stones 

 a few hours and then put them into moist loam. 

 ■Crack the stones, and take out the seeds, at the 

 proper time, and plant as you would corn. 



Cutter pillars. — By examining the lower branches 

 of apple trees, near the extremities, on a bright 

 morning, the eggs of catterpillars may be seen in 

 clusters on the branches, which may easily be ta- 

 ken off with the fingers. They should be destroyed. 

 By a crook, the length of a common cane, almost 

 ■every limb on which they are found may be drawn 

 down within convenient leach. 



Pruning. — We consider this a very unfavorable 

 season for pruning, and we introduce this subject 

 for the purposes of a caution, as so many select this 

 month for this purpose. Very small twigs may be 

 cut from trees at any season in the year, but large 

 limbs should not be cut off in spring; the sap oozes 

 out, the wood turns black, and often cankers and 

 decays. If grape vines were not pruned in fall, the 

 sooner they are attended to in spring the better, on 

 account of their being liable ta bleed when pruned 

 iate. 



Buying Hay. — It is a hard case for the farmer 

 to buy hay, but he must do it sometimes. Hay 

 \hat is only moved a mile or two is worth much 

 less than if fed directly from the mow. To avoid 

 this evil as far as possible, move hay on a damp day, 

 and pack it down hard in a close mow, and in us- 

 ing it, take the hay from one side, or pull it out so 

 as not to continually expose a new surface to the 

 air. We have kno\vn some farmers to pull all of 

 their hay out at the side of the mow, with a hay- 

 hook, as it would spend better from less exposure. 



Fences should be kept in good condition around 

 fruit trees, mowing fields, and woodlands, as cattle 

 are very destructive to them in the spring. They 

 prune trees too roughly, and sometimes too much; 

 .their poaching upon the soft grass lands is more in- 

 jurious than their feeding; and in the woodland 

 they devour the most luxuriant .shoots. 



Bees should be kept shaded until the snow is off, 

 and it is sufficently warm for them to go forth with 

 safety. If the sun shines on the hive it will revive 

 them and invite tliem out when too cold, and as 

 they meet the cold blast they will fall on the snow 

 or cold damp earth, and they cannot recover. In 

 this way n.illions are lost. 



Solving Grass Seed. — When the land is in good 

 condition this is a good season for sowing clover 

 seed. It may be sowed on the bare ground, or on 

 xhe snow, if the land is so level, and free from 

 washing that it is not liable to be carried out of place 

 by water. Herds grass and red top sowed in a 

 good soil, in March, will generally produce a pret- 

 ty good crop the first season; but it is better to sow 

 these grasses early in fall. If that favorable season 

 has been neglected, it. is best to sow now, 



PLANT THE BEST. 



It should be an invariable rule with every culti- 

 vator to plant and sow the best varieties of vegeta- 

 bles. It costs no more to cultivate a valuable kind 

 than a poor one. In nearly all the crops that we 

 cultivate, there are various kinds, possessing differ- 

 ent properties, and it is important that the farmer 

 get the best kind that is adapted to his soil and sit- 

 uation. 



In the beginning, a high price may be demand- 

 ed for a valuable kind of grain, or other vegeta- 

 ble; but a small quantity may be purchased to be- 

 gin with, and soon it will be so extended, that the 

 extra cost will hardly be perceptible. Allowing 

 that one dollar extra be paid for a half peck of very 

 superior grain. In two years it would probably 

 produce 100 bushels; and thus the extra cost would 

 be only one cent on a bushel, and, perhaps, far bet- 

 ter than this, there might in consequence of the 

 excellent variety, be ten per cent, added to the crop, 

 which would pay ten or twenty times the extra 

 cost, besides the superior value of the 100 bushels. 



A greal deal is said of the potato rot; and if 

 nothing was said on the subject, every farmer 

 would know the great destruction of crops and the 

 heavy loss by this malady from his own experi- 

 ence and observation. Now every cultivator of 

 this once valuable root should see what he can do 

 by way of an improvement. He should procure sev- 

 eral varieties of what appear to be the best and the 

 most hardy against the disease. In this way, he 

 may save about all his crop in common seasons of 

 the rot; and when it is very severe, as was the 

 case last year, he might save enough for his own 

 use, and a surplus to sell at a high price. A mere 

 trifle expended in this way will supply a farmer in 

 a short time with all the seed he needs for his farm . 



We have many varieties of Indian corn . Some 

 early, others late; some with large eais and large 

 stalks, others with compact ears, small cobs, and 

 fine fodder. Some varieties contain a large amount 

 of oil, and are good for fattening; others abound 

 in starch, and are superior for some dishes of food. 

 Every farmer should procure the best kinds, such 

 as are well adapted to his climate and soil, and to 

 the purposes for which he intends them. 



In beets, carrots, onions, and parsneps; in 

 squashes, pumpkins, in cucumbers and melons: 

 finally, in almost every species in the extensive 

 catalogue of vegetables there are varieties possess- 

 ing different qualities. They differ in quality, 

 production, earliness, <fcc.; and it is of great im- 

 portance to select the best, regarding the adapta- 

 tion of the kind to the purposes of the particular 

 objects of the cultivator. 



The present is a suitable time for farmers to ex- 

 amine into this subject, and furnish themselves with 

 the best seeds in due season, for soon will come 

 the time for action, and there will not be so con- 

 venient an opportunity to attend to this business. 



