d90 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[December, 



upon itB Bolution, with satisfactory results in local 

 instances, but very vague ones as to the field at 

 larpc. At the rate we are cutting it to-day, from 

 thirty to fifty years ssems to be agreed upon ae about 

 the limit. Twenty years ago there was apparently 

 no limit, for the consumption was not only less, but 

 the means for its manufacture were primitive, and 

 accomplished much smaller results tlian now. It 

 seems as if it were impossible to further improve the 

 machinery of saw-mills : but the near future may, 

 for all that, sec sawing machinery in comparison to 

 which that of the present will be contemptible. So, 

 although twenty years ago there was no foreseeing 

 the end of the timber, now, with the modern mills 

 and myriads of them, we are beginning to calculate 

 with dire certainty as to the time when the " Wooded 

 Age" will be a thing of the past. — Chax. D. Jiobinsoii, 

 Scribncr for December. 



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Silver Hull Buckwheat. 



D. N. Kern writes to the Practical Farmer : In the 

 year 1?78 I procured one pound of this buckwheat, 

 and from that pound I got one bushel. In 1874 I 

 sowed half a bushel and got twenty bushels. In 

 187.5 I sowed two bushels and got fifty bushels. In 

 187ti I sowed four quarts and got six bushels. This 

 year, 1877, I sowed four quarts on one-fourth of an 

 acre and got twelve bushels. I found one stalk that 

 stood by Itself, some ten feet away from the main 

 ])atch, that measured three-fourths of an Inch across 

 at the base, and it had one hundred and fifty 

 branches ; each branch had on an average six spike- 

 lets, and each spikelet had on an average ten grains 

 in all nine thousand grains. I would like to hear 

 who had a stalk of common buckwheat that had 

 done better. This buckwheat makes more and bet- 

 ter flour than the common kind. But still there are 

 plenty of farmers that sow the common kind and say 

 it is no use to pay two dollars for a bushel when you 

 can get the common kind for one dollar. 



^ — _ 



Is Hungarian Grass Safe Feed for Horses ? 



A correspondent objects to our remarks on the 

 healthfulncss of Hungarian grass as feed for horses, 

 on the ground "that the seeds are small and hard, 

 very diflicult of digestion, and liable to cause in- 

 flammation, producing all the symptoms of founder ; 

 the grass a'so is a diuretic, acting strongly on the kid- 

 neys and causing weakness of the loins." This is the 

 first time we ever heard charges so serions made 

 against Hungarian grass, and we have known of its 

 being used for a feed for years. The best time to se- 

 cure the crop is when it is In blossom, and before the 

 seeds have forniet:. The beards at this time have 

 not reached that degree of stitfness which the writer 

 thinks causes injury to the stomach of the horse, 

 while the embryotic seeds are perfectly harmless. 

 One large farmer in the State has, to our personal 

 knowledge, been using it for feed for his horses, at 

 one time keeping eight on it without injury ; but then 

 he always aims to cut at the right time. — St. Paul 

 Pinonecr Press. 



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Age of Nursery Trees. 



Mr. Aldrieh, of Nebraska, set out over 1,C00 apple 

 trees, a part of which were three years from the 

 graft ; some were two years old ; but three-fourths 

 were only one year old when planted, and these suc- 

 ceeded much the best. He decidedly preferred one- 

 year trees. President Furnas said that in the spring 

 of 18fj7 he planted 100 three-year-old trees, wilhont 

 losing one ; the next spring he planted beside them 

 100 one-year trees, and now the latter are the largest 

 and thriftiest. On the whole, however, he prefers 

 two-year trees, although more care is required in 

 taking them up properly and re-setting them. 



Several planters in dilfereut parts of the State 

 agreed that young trees when set out, should lean 

 towards the southwest, to protect the stems from the 

 sun's rays. 



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Interesting Facts. ' 



The number of seeds of wheat in one pound is 

 10,000. 



The number of seeds in one iK)Und of barley is 

 ]."),400. 



The number of seeds in one pound of oats is 30,- 

 000. 



The number of seeds in one pound of buckwheat 

 isi'i.OOO. 



The number of seeds in one pound of red clover is 

 '_'49,fi00. 



The number of seeds in one pound of white clover 

 is 6S8,400. 



HORTICULTURAL. 



Virginia Tobacco. 



The Baltimore Bnlleliii, referring to the State's 

 interview with the tobacco men of Kichmond, very 

 wisely says : " If we substitute for the misnomer 

 'over-production' the true phrase, pitching larger 

 crops than they have force to till, wc will come at 

 the real source of the decline in reputation of Vir- 

 ginia tobacco. The folly of this sort of husbandry is 

 that it destroys all the profits. A Connecticut far- 

 mer puts his last year's onion patch in tobacco — a 

 lot of two or three acres at the outside — and makes 

 more of it than the south-side planter makes from a 

 hundred acres." 



Mice and Young Trees. 



There was a great deal said last spring of the in- 

 jury done to young apple-trees during last winter by 

 mice, and the only remedy that wc have yet seen 

 suggested Is to stamp the snow firmly around the 

 trees. This is, however, not believed to be a remedy 

 at all, and we doubt if it is of much advantage, even 

 should there be always snow to thus use. But our 

 method is a " remedy," and we have tried to impress 

 the fact upon our contemporaries for the past twenty- 

 five years, but we should say, judging from their 

 ignorance in answering imploring correspondents 

 what they must do to save their trees, that it has 

 received but little attention in many quarters. 



It is simply to bandage up the stems of the tree 

 with any cotton or woolen cloths or old muslin with 

 two or three wrappings, letting the bandage go into 

 the ground an Inch or two, and six or eight inches 

 above ground and tie up. This should be renewed 

 every autumn, if necessary, until the trees are large 

 enough not to be injured. Those who are in earnest 

 for a remedy will try this and save their trees; but 

 it will be too much trouble for others to devote a 

 couple of hours to this labor annually, and they will 

 rather run the risk with the mice. 



This niethod will keep out the borer also, as we 

 have stated on several occasions. Rabbits can gnaw, 

 when the stems are sm.ill enough, two feet from the 

 ground, and would require the bandage to be much 

 higher. Tarring would help as a protection, but we 

 have known in many cases the simple bandage to be 

 allsuflicient, and the tar to be Injurious to the tree. 

 But the best way to treat rabbits is to feed them. 

 They never injure trees, except when snow covers the 

 ground and they have nothing to live on. For this 

 purpose cabbage, turnips, apples, or any vegct.ible 

 offal will answer, and especially hay, of which the 

 rabbit is very fond . 



^ 



Setting Trees. 



The art of making fruit and other trees grow and 

 thrive, lies in a few brief rules as follows : 



Dig them up with great care, retaining a large 

 proportion of their roots ; and any roots mangled, to 

 be cut off at the mangled ends smoothly with a sharp 

 knife. 



To be kept in the shade, if set out the same day 

 they are dug up. If not set the same day, dig a 

 trench in your garden deep enough to receive the 

 roots, pack in the trees side by side as closely as 

 possible, with the tops touching the ground, then 

 cover the roots ; a foot deep with soil, treading and 

 packing it around the roots ; and if the trees are to 

 remain a few days, it would be well to cover the r 

 tops with any coarse litter to shade them from the 

 sun. 



When set, trim the trees according to the extent 

 or quantity of roots they have, by shortening in the 

 branches, and by removing a superfluous branch 

 here and there. From one-third to one-half of the 

 top of a tree, when reset, should always be shortened 

 in. 



Dig holes of ample size, so that all the roots will 

 be in their natural, horizontal position ; and place 

 the surface soil by itself, to be first used aroimd the 

 roots, and the subsoil on top. P.ack the earth firmly 

 among the roots, and before the holes are entirely 

 filled up, turn half of a pail of water into each, and 

 wait a few hours to finish filling them. 



No manure should be put among the roots ; but it 

 maybe placed over them, near tlie surface of the 

 ground. A mulch of barnyard litter around the 

 trunks of the trees is very good to ward oft" the effects 

 of a drouth. 



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How Jacob Taylor Grows Plums. 



.Jacob Taylor, a colored citizen of East Notting- 

 ham, owns a little property in the western part of 

 the township, near Hopewell. He has several trees 

 of blue or prune plums, which bear an alnindant 

 crop every other year. A few years ago when he 

 had but one tree, it bore seven bushels, which he 

 sent to the Philadtlphia market, and his net reccipis 

 were ?4 per bushel— 8'28. Previous to that year 

 Jacob's tree did not bear any perfect fruit, the cur- 

 culio, the deadly enemy of the plum, alwavs stinging 

 the green fruit when well-grown, causing it to fall 

 off". At the suggestion of a neighbor he soaked corn 

 cobs in molasses diluted with water and hung them 

 in bunches on the limbs, and tied a band of cotton 

 saturated with the same solution around the trunk 

 of the tree. The theory is that the band prevents the 

 i isect from ascending the tree, and when any do pass 

 this blockade they are attracted to the sweetened 

 cobs and deposit their eggs therein instead of the 

 fruit. His trees bear every other year and only when 

 he practices this curculio remedy. He supplied 

 many of our citizens with plums last week at forty cts. 

 per half peck. — Orford Press. 



thus discourses as "an old hand" on a subject which 

 is under discussion in the western papers ; 



One says every intelligent horticulturist docs it so 

 and so ; we have tried h's plan, hut it goes too slow. 

 Another says that wood should not be left attached 

 to the bud ; while others hud without the horizontal 

 cut. One method which we have practiced for forty 

 years, with fair success, we still adhere to. Cut a 

 cross through the bark, then a downward cut, an 

 inch and a half in length, lift the bark carefully and 

 insert the bud. To tie with strips of rags, as one 

 recommends, will do where but a few buds are set ; 

 but for our purpose wc would have to rob the rag- 

 man. 



This season we have some 5,000 to set. With any- 

 thing like a fair chance, wc count on 90 per cent, to 

 grow. The taking out of the wood is useless labor, 

 and even ofteu tears the germ out with it ; and as to 

 the cutting out of the bud, so described by the doc- 

 tor, and cut a similar one out of the tree, the hud 

 must be held to tie it. I often cut five buds, have 

 four of them belwecn my I'ps, set all of them, then 

 the tie, thus saving the trouble of laying down the 

 knife and picking up again. Old as I am I can bud 

 1,000 in a day and tie myself. 



Budding. > 



The eminent horticulturist, Samuel Miller, former- 

 ly of Lebanon, now the editor of the horticultural 

 department of Caiman's Jtitral World (St. Louis,^ 



American Fruit in Europe. 



The foreign demand for American fruit is now so 

 great that Europe and Australia will take nearly all 

 tlic fruit, fresh and dried (dried peaches excepted) 

 which the United States can land in their markets in 

 good condition. England prefers fresh fruit, and 

 since October of last year has taken 390,000 barrels 

 from the United States, beginning with the latter 

 part of October, at the rate of 8,000 barrels a week, 

 increasing in four weeks to 17,000 barrels. The aver- 

 age in December was 20,00 barrels weekly, and one 

 week the number ran up 28,.5l'.5. These were mostly 

 Baldwins, Greenings, Russets, and Newtown Pippins. 

 It is estimated that England will take an average of 

 from 12,000 to 15,000 barrels a week for the entire 

 season of nine months. The working classes of 

 Germany and the workingmeu of Australia are the 

 chief customers for American dried fruit .abroad, but 

 the iX)or people of England and Russia buy to a 

 limited extent. As long as dried apples can be ex- 

 ported from New York at five or even seven cents a 

 pound, the workingmen of Euroi)e and Australia 

 will buy all that can be spared. The business of ex- 

 porting fruit is one that has been chiefly built up 

 since 1805. 



^ 



Cracked Pears. 



Chas. C. Mullen, of West Philadelphia, writes to 

 the Germantown Tch;/raph: Seeing in your paper 

 of July 25ih an article on "Cracked Pears," I have 

 to say that all my varieties rusted, became hard as a 

 stone, and cracked open. My beautiful while Doy- 

 ennes shared the s.tmic fate. For the last two years 

 I have sowed salt around the trunks of the trees, 

 enough to make the ground white, and the result is, 

 I have nn more flinty, hard, cracked pears, and my 

 white Doyennes have rcgaiucd their plump size and 

 beautiful rosy blush. 



1 write this for the benefit of all who like perfect 

 fruit. I have no doubt the mystery lies at the roots, 

 salt being death to all the worm tribe. I believe ap- 

 plied lo all apple orchards it would be as effectual as 

 scalding now is to pear trees. I ap])ly the salt but 

 once a year, and whitewash the trees with a strong 

 salt pickle to prevent washing olf. 



Forest Planting in France. 



The past spring has been very favorable to the 

 large areas in France lately planted in forests. It is 

 stated that 5,000,000 hectares or 12,-350,000 acres— 

 about half the area of Ohio— have become unproduc- 

 tive as agricultural lands. Pine trees without any 

 cultivation and a very inexpensive supervision can be 

 made to grow u|ion these barren acres, netting aliout 

 S2..50 per annual of profit. This would add to the 

 productive capacity of these lands about $30,000,000 

 per annum. Other trees have been planted with 

 similar economic resuhs, and now landed proprietors 

 are looking to tree-planting as a means of utilil7.ii;g 

 their unproductive acres. 



The grape yield in Ohio has been very satisfactory 

 this year, although there were serious apprehensions 

 of a failure in the spring. From Putin-Bay alone 

 'iO,000 baskets were shipped. They have fetched 

 from two and a-lialf cents a jiound for Concords lo 

 six cents for choice Dehiwarcs. Catawbas have sold 

 for four cents and ujiward. Wc arc now using the 

 latter grape and they cannot be surpassed liy any 

 out-door grape and by few in-door. 



The farmers of Minnesota have taken hold of the 

 tree planting liusiness in earnest. Over 10,000,000 

 of cuttings were set out duriug the past year, most 

 of which are doing well. The young trees consist 

 largely of cottonwood and white willow, but fliere is 

 also a liberal sprinkling of maple, larch, white oak, 

 etc. 



