168 FARM APPLIANCES. 



label is shown at N, and at P the cover is partly raised. This 

 arrangement may be applied to any size of labels. The 

 great difficulty with wooden labels is not that the name 

 becomes obliterated, but that the portion in the ground 

 decays. This may be avoided by using Locust, which is 

 expensive. 



POLES FOR BEANS AND OTHER CLIMBERS. 



White birches and alders, so commonly used for bean 

 poles, are about the poorest, for they last only one season 

 at the best, and sometimes break off at the surface of the 

 ground and let down the beautiful pyramid of green be- 

 fore the pods are ripe. White Cedar from the swamps is 

 durable, and the rough bark enables the vines to climb 

 without any help from strings, but these are not al- 

 ways accessible. Eed Cedar is much more widely distri- 

 buted, and on the whole makes the best bean pole. The 

 wood is as durable as the White Cedar, and young trees, 

 from which poles are made, grow quite stout at the ground, 

 and, if well set, will resist very strong winds. A set of 

 these poles will last for a generation. For bean poles, all 

 the side branches are trimmed off, but for a support for 

 ornamental climbers, these may be left on. A Cedar, 

 six or eight feet high, with the branches gradually short- 

 ened from below upwards, makes an excellent support 

 for ornamental vines. One of these, covered with a 

 clematis, or other showy climber, makes a pyramid of 

 great beauty. It is well to prepare a supply of poles for 

 beans and other plants before the work is pressing. 



POTTING STRAWBERRY PLANTS. 



Figure 197 shows a simple method of turning old tin 

 cans into contrivances for potting strawberries. Unsolder 



