1876.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



55 



arc grattwl on stacks four totivi^ feet liigli, Imt 

 they are jierfeetly worlliless in this flimate, 

 and it is only tlu'owini; money away to liny 

 them, as the liot sun in summer and tlic dry, 

 cold winds of our winters kill the slock in a 

 year or two. What are called dwarfs, ortliose 

 budded within three to .si.x implies of the 

 ground, do better, but as they are continually 

 throwing up suckers from tiie stock, tliey re- 

 quire constant attention to cut them out, for 

 if left to grow, they so impoverisli the top as to 

 destroy it. Wo therefore reconiincud the 

 growing only of such sorts as can be grown ou 

 their own roots; these all our leading nur- 

 serymen can furnish, as in this country they 

 are now sehUim grown in any other way. 



Koses are all gross feeders, and rei|niro a 

 liberal supply of manure, which, however, 

 should be well root<'d liefore being dug in. It 

 should not be dug in with a spade, as the roots 

 are thereby cut otf, and nuii-h injury thusdoue 

 to the iilant ; it should therefore be done with 

 a spadiug-fork. Two to three incthes of 

 mulching maniu-j should be laid on the sur- 

 face as far as the roots extend ; for the rose 

 delights in a cool, moist soil, loams suiting it 

 best. They should be pruned iu February or 

 early in March every year. AVIkmi the shoots 

 are very strong prune tliem back one-fourth or 

 one-third their length ; if not strong, cut 

 them back toone-half their length. The buds 

 on these shoots will then push and jiroduce 

 blooms. At the next season these secondary 

 shoots should be cut back to two or three 

 buds, when they will again produce blooming 

 shoocs. The third season, the shoot which 

 has thus produced two crops of (lowers should 

 be cut clean out close to the surface of the 

 ground, as it will seldom produce good flowers 

 tlie third year. By proper attention to ma- 

 nuring, and thus encouraging strong new 

 growth, and i)runing a.s thus directed, ro.se- 

 Ijushes can be grown to a large size, and made 

 to produce fine llowers for tifleen or twenty 

 year.s. 



Rosesare much troubled with what are known 

 as the rose-bug, the rose-slug, and aphides, both 

 green and black. To destroy the Hrst, syringe 

 the plants with a solution of whale-oil soap. 

 The slug destroys the under side of the leaf, 

 and can be destroyed by dredging the under 

 side of the leaves with powdered white helle- 

 hore,' taking care not to inhale it, as it pro- 

 duces convulsive sneezing. The aphides are 

 readily destroyed by dipping the ends of the 

 shoots iu strong tobacco-water, to which suf- 

 ficient soft soap has been added to make it 

 slightly glutinous. 



The best season for transplanting roses, if 

 from the open ground, is in October, but they 

 will succeed it planted very early in the 

 spring. When transi>lanted from pots, the 

 spring is the best time to do it ; if done in the 

 autumn they are liable to be thrown out of 

 the ground. 



In making a selection of sorts from the re- 

 montant class, always choose the strong-grow- 

 ing sorts, or those having a strong infusion of 

 the four-seascms stock, as they are more likely 

 to produce tlowei'S in the autunm, and the 

 tlowers are generally larger and liner than the 

 other hybrids. Avoid those having a large 

 predominance of t'hina rose stock, as they are 

 genei'ally feeble growers, liable to mildew, and 

 entirely lose their ever-blooming character 

 when hybridized with other species. 



CULTURE OF ASPARAGUS. 



Very much has been written on this svdjject, 

 and a great deal has appeared even in our own 

 columns, but with each recurring year there 

 Seems to be something to learn and to nnleani, 

 and hence though we were to write an article 

 on it every year, in the light of continued ex- 

 perience, there would iirobably he something 

 new to be told each time. 



So far as the farm-culture of asparagus is 

 concerned, there seems to be little new to be 

 told; and yet one of the practices which the 

 plow cultivators hav(^ foHn<l necessary toi)rac- 

 tice — of necessity and not because it was 

 thought to be absolutely the best — seems com- 



ing to be considered a good thing under any 

 circmnstauees. 



It is the general practice in lield-cultiire to 

 set the plaids six, eight, or even more inches 

 deep, and more in light .soils. This was Tiot 

 thought to be any gre;it beuelit, but because 

 the grouuil could then be easily plowed and 

 cultivali'd iu the spring. After theasparagus 

 was lit to (uit in the spring, no farther culture 

 was attempted. Wi'eds and grass may grow, 

 hut when tln^ fallcomesaud the lopsdicaway, 

 or the spring approa(^hes, tl.(^ wholi! can be 

 plowe(I over, harrowed and cleaned, the whole 

 operation being ciiuducled ;diove the level of 

 the roots, which thus has the advantage ofa 

 light soil to push through as wi'U as a tho- 

 oughly clean surface to begin the year with, at 

 least. Recent experiments which wehaveseen 

 referred to recently, both in this country and 

 abroad, seem to show that this ilejith of earlh 

 over the roots is a great advantage; (hat the 

 (inestaud sweetest asjiaragns results from Ihe 

 plant having to push its way from a good depth 

 ui) to the surface; and it is reconunended iu 

 some instances even to have the plants as 

 much as a couple of feet below. This seems so 

 utterly iiu:onsisteut with all we know of food- 

 culture, (for most l)lants as a rule like to have 

 their roots near the surface of the ground) that 

 weri' not the practice endorsed by some of the 

 (irst names in horttcnitnral lilerature, we 

 should hesit.ate to refer (o it. IJut tlit^ facts and 

 figures undiuditedly prove that where the roots 

 are some distance below th(^ surface the very 

 (iuest asparagus has been the result. 



But, and here the greatest cauticm is neeiled 

 to note the full force of language, tlii^ i)lants 

 are not set deeply in the griuuid. They are 

 planted very near the surface in tlu^ tirst in- 

 stance, and the depth is gained by depositing 

 on the surf.ace. Though the asparagus is a 

 seaside plant and therefore supposed to be fond 

 of water, it is found by experience that it loves 

 rather dry gromid, or rather situations where 

 the water does not lie long before it (lasses 

 away; and this rather dry condition of things 

 is secured by jilanting pretty near the surface. 

 Where this naturally dry condition of things 

 cannot be olitained in any other way, ditches 

 are dug between the beds and the soil from 

 them thrown on to the beds, so as in this way 

 to drain off the water and make the whole 

 thing dry. These ditches an^ annuaily dug 

 out and the accumulations thrown over the 

 pl.ants, and what with the annual mannriugs 

 and the soil thrown out the beds are made an- 

 nually higher and of course the jilants get to 

 be farther and farther away from the surface 

 from year to year. But all this time the roots 

 are kept high and dry, an<l it is as much this 

 elevated and dry i>osition added to the dei)th, 

 that gives the plant its great advantages. 



We have heard of people who have set 

 plants deep down from the ordinary level sur- 

 face of the groimil, an<l always with injury, 

 especially in clayey or heavy soils. In these 

 cases the very fact of making the bed deep and 

 loose, only increases its chances of getting 

 water-logged, the water runniugover the hard, 

 (Inn soil into the looser earth provided for the 

 l>ed. The roots are thus always cold and 

 damp ; and very often, especially when lir.st 

 planted, rot away entirely. The point is to 

 have the roots deej) under the surface ; but 

 still the ground around the roots must be high 

 and dry. 



It is interesting to note how our forefathers 

 often found out good jirartices without know- 

 ing exactly the reason for them. In all old 

 gardens asparagus was planted iu beds with 

 deep ditches between them; ami we all know 

 that the asjiaragus of that tinu' was beder on 

 the whole than the asjiaragus nowadays, and 

 since we have adopted the Hat and level sys- 

 tem of culture. Tliey all thought gardening a 

 business in which one bad to learn the art, see 

 how things were done, and ask no (piestions. 

 Modern gardening is supposed to 1h' founded 

 on the "rea.son for things, " and anyone who is 

 capable or supposed to be capable of tracing 

 cause from ell'cct, is regarded as likely to make 

 quite as good a fellow as one who has Iw^en 

 years at the business. But all these little 



things show how advantageous is experience, 

 and how limch we should listen to the results 

 of experience, although for the time iH-iug wo 

 may see no rciison in them. — GcrnuitUown 

 Tekijraiih. 



FISH CULTURE. 



As usual, the suliject of PiscAmHurc and the 

 Finhirica continues to occupy a large share of 

 th(^ ]>idplic attention, in view of the popidarity 

 of the measures taken toward the increase in 

 the supply of fresh-water lishes, and the pro- 

 per ut iliziition of the products of the wati'rs 

 generally. 



Of the various State Commissions, those of 

 \''irginia, California and Maine have lately 

 published their reports of sati-faelory work. 



The varied enli-rprises in whii'h tin; llnilcd 

 Slates has been i-nuaged during the autumn 

 have been suc(;essfully prosecuted — the UniKKl 

 States hatching establishment on the Sacni- 

 mento river, under the charge of Mr. Living- 

 ston Stone, having obtained nine niillions of 

 eggs, in b\dk am lunling to eighty busluds. 

 Some two millions of the young were hatched 

 out and plai-ed in the S.icram'nto for the pur- 

 pose of keeping up its supply, and the remain- 

 der of the egiis were sent east, for thc> most 

 part to the Slate Commissioners of Fisheries. 

 The introduction of young (ish into suitable 

 waters was prosecuted maiidy iluring the 

 mouths of |)ecend>er and .lanuary, and nearly 

 all the waters of the United Stales east of the 

 Mis.souri have their share. A very large num- 

 ber were planted in the headwaters of the 

 Ohio, Missi.ssippi, and <fthi-r streams in the 

 central portion of the United States, as well as 

 in the waters tributary to the (ireat Lakes, 

 and those of the east from Maine to (Jeorgia. 

 It iK not too much to \w\w that in a few years 

 most satisfactory results from the experiment 

 will lie experiiMiced. .Mr. Atkins has also con- 

 tinued his work in (collecting and developing 

 the eggs of the Eastern Salmon, at Buckporl, 

 Maine, and has se<:ureil between tlirei' and 

 four millions. These, sus beiiig later in the 

 year, and of slower development, will be dis- 

 tributed in March or April. In addition foliis 

 laliors with the sea salmon, Mr. Atkins has 

 also si'cured a large munber of eggs of the 

 land-locked salnion from the (ireat Lake 

 Stream, in Eastern .Maine, some nine humlred 

 thousand eggs iu all having been jilat-ed in the 

 hatching bo.xes. Iu the course of its labors 

 during The sunnner of IS"."), having reference 

 to the shad, about twelve milli'Mis of young 

 were hatched out and distributed in vari(Uis 

 waters by the United States Fish (Jomniis- 

 sion. 



A very important enterprise of the s;ime 

 general character is that which is now in pro- 

 gress under the dini'tiouof the Fish Coinmis- 

 sionersof Canada, .Michigan. ( )hio. The Miclii 

 gau Connnissioners are now hatching about 

 .seven millions of white lish eggs, those of Cana- 

 da having almost as many. The Ohio t"om- 

 missioners were nnable to complete their («- 

 tahlishments in time for extensive operations 

 this sea.son, but they hav<' at their four hatch- 

 ing stations a considerable nundier of the eggs 

 of the white lish, i)artly furuisbeil to them by 

 the (Jonnnissioners of Michig-an. 



An imiiortant movement has been made on 

 the Hudson river by Seth tireen, under the 

 direction of the Fish Commissioners of New 

 York, in the multiplication of sturgeon. The 

 economical value of this (ish is only Ix-ginning 

 to be appreciatcil in this country, although in 

 JMU-opeit has long ranked among tho.se of most 

 impoitauee. Hut already a large business in 

 the manufacture of isingliuss and caviar. :is 

 well as in supplying this lish for consumption, 

 both fresh and smoked, bus Ih-cii prosi'cuted 

 for some time. The Hudson river formerly 

 abounded in sturgeon, which have In-come 

 .scarce, and the object of Mr. (Jreen's work 

 has been to increa.se the number. An inci- 

 dental l>eiielit resulting from the multiplying 

 of tliesetish.it is expected, will be the destruc- 

 tion by them of th.> stake nets which at pres- 

 ent do so much to prevent the natural inci-eiiae 



