62 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[April, 



the Bide pieces, the rigging is complete. Arriving in 

 the field, take off a Bide-board, and with a potato 

 hook, pull off enough manure for a heap, starting 

 the team, another heap is made from the other side, 

 and then one from each end, making always five and 

 sometimes six heaps from the load. I rake off in 

 heaps, because the manure is unloaded so much 

 more rapidly than by pitching. If I had to pitch it 

 over a wagon box, as is usually done, I should 

 spread as I unloaded. It is in this raoid unloading 

 that much of the saving is made. If the distance to 

 draw is short, or the manure inconvenient to get at, 

 I sometimes find it better to have two men to load. 

 It is a material waste to allow horses to be idle while 

 the manure is being spread. — Cor. Rural New Yorker. 



The Benefit of Lime. 



Although lime is found to be most beneficial the 

 second and third years after its application, its effects 

 are known to last much longer. The larger the 

 crops, however, the sooner the lime (as well as other 

 fertilizing matter contained in the land) becomes 

 exhausted, and therefore the greater the advantage 

 of its frequent application in smaller quantities, 

 than a single application on a larger scale. It must 

 he borne in mind, however, that the application of 

 lime on land destitute of vegetable matter will do no 

 good. There must be vegetable matter of some kind 

 in the land for the lime to act upon before its bene- 

 ficial effects can be seen. Or, as the poet expresses it; 

 Lime aloue witliout manure 

 Will make both laud and farmer poor, 

 Bu' lime applied with good manure 

 Makes wealth of land and farmer sure. 



Coal Ashes. 



Coal ashes as a fertilizer are said to be very bene- 

 ficial for tomatoes and potatoes, and to a less extent 

 peas and beans. Moreover, they improve tlie me- 

 chanical condition of the soil, and are therefore es- 

 pecially beneficial to clayey and rieid land generally. 

 They should be worked in deeply and uniformerly in 

 the proportion of, say, one part of ashes to two of 

 mold. As it takes a long time to decompose them, 

 their fertilizing properties are slow in action, but 

 continuous. To obtain the best advantage from their 

 use, some other kind of manure should be applied in 

 conjunction with them. As there are seldom enough 

 for field culture, the garden is the best place in which 

 to use them, and inasmuch as they are generally 

 considered more inconvenient refuse, all the advantage 

 iecured from their use will be a clear gain. — Rural 

 New Yorker. 



Bleaching Broom Corn. 



Broom corn is bleached after it has been properly 

 dried, but before the brooms are made. It is only 

 necessary to bleach the wrappers. In a small way 

 this can be done in a hogshead or a dry goods box, 

 capable of holding, say, enough for forty brooms. 

 Punch a few holes in the bottom, place it over a de- 

 pression in the earth containing an iron basin, in 

 which is half a pound of sulphur for each bleaching. 

 This can be readily melted by the application of a 

 hot iron or otherwise. The corn should be wet before 

 bleaching and spread out or hung up bo as to expose 

 a large surface, and the receptacle should be covered 

 with a piece of old carpet to confine the fumes of the 

 burning sulphur. — Rural New Yorker. 



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Selecting Seed Corn. 



I have been improving my corn by selecting the 

 first ears that get ripe, and this is my seventh year 

 since I began this practice, always planting the 

 largest and best developed ears. For the last seven 

 years I have rejected the tips and butts of the ears, 

 shelling off all grains that are not well developed. 

 To-day I have as good, sound, well-developed ears 

 as any man can raise, and filled to the very tip — so 

 much so that there is no room for another grain. 

 I have also made ray corn much earlier by gathering 

 the first ears that get ripe. The reason why I reject the 

 tip grains is this — they are not so well developed and 

 will not come up so strong and make so rank a growth. 



HORTICULTURAL. 



Wheat in Australia. 



The Adelaide Obserrer tells us that the Australians 

 think they can successfully compete with America 

 in the grain markets of the world, if they can only 

 keep ahead of America in the invention of labor- 

 saving machinery. In the Austrian House of Depu- 

 ties a member brought in a bill to award a " bonus " 

 of $.0,000 for the invention of the best machine for 

 reaping, cleaning and bagging wheat on the ground. 

 Here is a chance for the Yankee — first, to make a 

 clean 520,000, and still get his usual sales and profit 

 in Liverpool besides. 



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More grass and less grain, more condensing of 

 food on the farm should be the motto now. The plan 

 of putting more of our idle acres into grass and of 

 raising more live stock of a better quality will be a 

 Btep in the right direction. 



Coal Ashes and Curculio. 



I have for several years saved my plums from the 

 ravages of the curculio by the use of coal ashes. 

 They become bo completely disgusted with it that 

 they leave for other parts. Just so soon as blossoms 

 fall I commence with my ashes. I take a bucketful 

 of the ashes under my arm, and with the other hand 

 I dash the ashes all over and through the trees, 

 covering the plums completely with ashes, and go 

 round every few days and give them anotlier dose. 

 If the rain washes it off, I renew the dose and keep 

 at it until my plums are ripe, when I am well paid 

 for my trouble. I had, this year, eight bushels on 

 seven small trees, which Isold for thirty-two dollars. 

 I have several trees of the Rheine Claude variety 

 upon which I did not use the ashes, because the 

 plums were so scattering. I thought it would not 

 pay, but there was one limb of one of those trees 

 that was close to those I put the ashes on ; it got its 

 share of ashes, and that limb ripened up all of its 

 plums, but not a plum was there left on the other 

 part of the tree or on any of the other trees of that 

 variety. This was conclusive evidence to me that it 

 was the ashes that saved my plums. When I first 

 commenced the ashes, my brother told me that I 

 would not succeed, that he made sure of saving his 

 plums by placing a sheet underhis trees and shaking 

 the little Turks off his trees, and catching them on 

 the sheet and killing them. But when plums were 

 ripe I had plenty and he had none. — Ohio Farmer. 



SoAPSUD water is an excellent liquid manure for 

 some garden crops, especially for celery, which if 

 applied every other day, during its growing season, 

 the itocks will be crisp and of a mammoth ei2e. 



Celery. 



Sow seeds in a hot-bed or in cold-frame. As soon 

 as the plants are about three inches high, transplant 

 to a nicely-prepared bed in the border, setting them 

 four or five inches apart. When some eight inches 

 high , and fine stocky plants, set them in the trenches. 

 Earth up a little during the summer, keeping the 

 leaf stalks close together, so the soil cannot get be- 

 tween them. Finish earthing up in autumn, and 

 never hoe or earth up in moist weather, nor when 

 plants are moistened with dew. 



To preserve celery for winter, dig trenches a foot 

 in width, and a foot higher than the tops of the 

 plants. Stand the celery in there erect, just as they 

 grew, roots and all, and not crowded. Cover the 

 trench with boards, and then leaves or straw. 



Turner's Incomparable Dwarf White, one of the 

 very best varieties, growing stout, crisp and exceed- 

 ingly fine nutty flavor. 



Sandringham Dwarf White, a new variety, gaining 

 much popularity in Europe; produced by the gar- 

 dener to the Prince of Wales ; solid, crisp, and of 

 fine flavor. 



Boston Market, of low growth, somewhat branch- 

 ing, white, crisp, and a favorite of the market gar- 

 deners in the vicinity of Boston. 



Sealey's Leviathan, white, very large and solid, 

 unsurpassed in flavor. 



Laing's Mammoth Red, fine flavor, large ; excel- 

 lent keeper. 



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Peas. 



Peas should be put in as early as the soil can be 

 got ready. Sow in drills not less than four inches 

 deep, about a pint to forty feet. The drills must not 

 be nearer than two feet, except for the lowest sorts. 

 Those growing three feet high or more should not be 

 nearer than three or four feet, and should have brush 

 for their support. The large, fine wrinkled varieties 

 are not as hardy as the small sorts, and if planted 

 very early should have a dry soil, or they are liable 

 to rot. It is best to sow the earliest peas just as soon 

 as possible. They are hardy, and frost will not harm 

 them. In about two or three weeks after make 

 another sowing, a few more early, a good lot of sec- 

 ond early and some for late crop. The second sowing 

 of early comes in very handy. 



Vick's Extra Early, one of the best of the very 

 early peas, of good quality, very early, productive 

 and true. 



Carter's First Crop, earliest and quite productive ; 

 height, 30 inche, and giving a large crop for so 

 early a pea. 



Kentish Invicta, round, blue pea, and the earliest 

 blue variety grown, as early as First Crop, excellent 

 for ftimily or market ; two feet in height. 



Blue Peter, habit like Tom Thumb, but more 

 robust, almost as dwarf, and immensely productive. 

 It has proved the most promising of the new peas for 

 the American grower. 



Pruning Dwarf Pears. 



A lady correspondent asks : " Will some one tell 

 me how and when to prune dwarf pear trees ; if they 

 muBt be washed at this time of year, and what to 

 put round them to make them grow ; "We reply that 

 they can be pruned at any time from now up to the 

 first of March. If any of the wood is needed for 

 grafting it can be stuck two or three inches in the 

 ground, where it will be found to be in good condi- 

 tion when the grafting season comes round. Prun- 

 ing now and until spring reduces the extent of the 

 tree and foliage and gives form ; but prUQiog or 



shortening-in in June will produce fruit-spurs for the 

 following year. Mow to prune cannot always be ad- 

 vised. Where the growth of this year has been ram- 

 pant, cut back to within two or three inches of the 

 old wood, and thin out some of the young wood. 

 Your own judgment must direct you as to this, trees 

 being so different in habit and growth. As to washing 

 the trees, it ought to be done at once, with whale-oil 

 soap and water — a pound of soap to a bucket of 

 water — and scraped also if the)^ need it. A rich soil 

 is all sufficient to make your trees grow. If not rich, 

 give a good top-dressing of manure now, and care- 

 fully fork-in in the spring. — Oertnantown Telegraph. 



Beans. 



Beans like a dry and rather light soil, though they 

 will do well in any garden soil if not set out too early 

 in the spring. Dwarfs are earliest and most hardy, 

 as a general rule. 



Dwarf or Snap Beans. 



Early Rachel, the earliest, and very hardy ; desir- 

 able as a string bean. 



Long Yellow Six-Weeks, one of the earliest ; an 

 excellent and productive string bean. 



Wax or Butler, a popular variety wherever known; 

 the pods a waxy yellow, solid, very tender and al- 

 most transparent, stringless, seeds black when ripe. 



White Kidney or Royal Dwarf, one of the very 

 best for shelling, either green or dry. 



Refugee, hardy abundant bearer, fiesh thick and 

 tender ; one of the very best for pickling, on account 

 of its thick flesh ; not very early, will produce pods 

 fit for eating in about eight weeks. 



Broad Windsor, the celebrated Broad Bean of 

 England, growing on a strong stalk, about two feet 

 in height. Beans eatenshelled. Not very well adapted 

 to our climate. 



Potato Planting. 



An Item in a French journal, sent us by Mr. 

 Chrystie, relates to potato plantiner, and we translate 

 it, with slight condensation, as follows : 



" It appears, as we read in the Universe, that to 

 the present day we have never learned how to 

 plant potatoes. We cut them in two and put them 

 into deep trenches and fill in the earth over them. 

 Now, the potato, being originally from Peru, needs 

 warmth and air. To bury it in a cold, damp grave 

 of this kind, says M. Calloigne, is to arrest its flight. 

 Put it simply on a soil deeply plowed or spaded — say 

 in '.iO-inch squares if the potato is cut, or in .30-inch 

 squares if uncut — and cover it lightly with the hoe. 

 It will soon pierce this slight covering, which both 

 shelters and fertilizes it, and can then be hilled up as 

 necessary. By following this method, by preventing 

 sprouting until planting time, and then plunging it 

 into lime-wash to destroy moibid principles, we may 

 prevent the development of the disease, and raise a 

 crop similar, if not superior, to those seen before 

 the invasion of the rot, say eight or nine tons per 

 acre . ' ' — Country Gentleman. 



Beautifying the Grass Plot. 



I should like to make a suggestion for the benefit 

 of persons who purpose soon to plant their spring 

 flower-beds. If a few seeds of the portulacca — as- 

 sorted colors — be sprinkled about in the grass plot, 

 you have no idea how the flowers will refresh the eye 

 during the summer. I found this out by accident 

 last year. Some seeds had blown away and dis- 

 tributed themselves haphazard amid the grass; and 

 all through the hot season, when bright contrasts 

 are so grateful to the eye of sweltering and apethetic 

 humanity, I was refreshed and delighted with the 

 little dots of vivid yellow, red, white and purple 

 peeping up between the spires of my green, plush- 

 like lawn. 



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Running Beans. 



Large Lima, the most buttery and delicious bean 

 grown. Plant in a warm, sandy soil, if possible, not 

 too early. 



London Horticultural, or Speckled Cranberry, a 

 round speckled bean, tender for snap beans, and ex- 

 cellent for shelling. 



Giant Wax, thick fleshy, creamy yellow, waxy- 

 looking pods, very tender and excellent as a snap 

 bean ; productive, keeping in bearing a very long 

 time ; seeds red, and rather tender. 



Scarlet Runner. This is the favorite snap bean of 

 Europe, and nothing else will sell as soon as this 

 appears in market. It is often planted in rows and 

 allowed to run on the ground. 



Asparagus. 



Young asparagus shoots are fit for use In the 

 spring, when a few inches high. Sow the seed in 

 drills, about one inch deep, and rows about a foot 

 apart. Keep the soil mellow and free from weeds 

 during the summer, and in the fall or succeeding 

 spring the plants may be set out in beds, about a 

 foot apart each way, leaving the crown of the root 

 about four inches below the surface. Before winter, 

 cover the bed with a dressing of manure. Pur- 

 chasing roots instead of seed wUl save a year in tliiM< 



