40 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ March, 



which seems to have checked the flow of sap. 

 I have frequently noticed in the opening, soon 

 after, a new bark, a pretty sure indication of 

 a check of the disease, and perhaps the saving 

 of the tree. 



How to prune is of the utmost importance. 

 The future tree should be modeled while in 

 its infancy. Generally speaking, too much of 

 it is done. The careful orchardist will, with 

 his thumb and linger, or at most with a com- 

 mon pocket pruning knife, prune from the tree 

 while the tojis can be reached from the ground. 

 A little careful observation and thought will 

 soon dictate to any prudent mind where the 

 limbs should be started to make a well-propor- 

 tioned I op. -Low branches are decidedly pre- 

 f errable, say three or four feet from the ground. 

 These will assist in providing the shade above 

 refered to. Too much care cannot be used 

 to properly shape the tree while quite young. 

 Should the growth be long and slender^ with 

 few or no branches, cut back to where it is 

 desired to have the limbs start. If of a droop- 

 ing tendency, head back to where there is a 

 good and well-developed bud on the top of the 

 branch ; and if upright, leave the upper bud 

 on the outside, which will in the one case 

 have a tendency to make the tree incline up- 

 wards, while the other makes it spread. Ju- 

 dicious treatment can form the tree to any 

 shape desired. The common practice of re- 

 moving the small spurs that usually form at 

 nearly all the buds is destroying the object for 

 which the tree is grown. These liave an im- 

 portant mission to perlbrm. They materially 

 assist in sti'eiijiUniiin.otlie limbs by increasing 

 their thickness, and ;ue among the first to de- 

 velop fruit bud.s, while if taken off tliey neces- 

 sitate their formation near the ends of the 

 branches. Hence the greater strain and lia- 

 bility of the tree breaking when loaded with 

 fruit. Too large a proportion of those pro- 

 fessing to know how to prune make a grave 

 error in this way. Frequently persons making 

 a profession of the business travel from or- 

 chard to orchard making sad havoc upon the 

 very branches which should be preserved. 

 This, however, is one of the fine arts in tree- 

 pruning, and can be much better shown by 

 ocular demonstration than by describing. 



One of the great follies with many orcliard- 

 ists is the attempt to double-work their 

 orchards by half manuring, and until they 

 learn that it is imi)ossible to take more out of 

 the soil than there is in it fruit-growing will 

 be uncertain, whether the seasons be favor- 

 able or not. V/hat kinds and quantity of 

 fertilizer should be applied must be deter- 

 mined according to the constituents of the 

 various soils. A neighbor has been quite 

 successful by applying liquid manure from his 

 barnyard on the sod under his trees, and I 

 believe the sewerage from tlie house could be 

 used with equally good results. 



Things being favorable to the production of 

 regular crops, it is of vital importance for the 

 grower to understand to a certain extent the 

 nature and habits of insect enemies and apply 

 methods to counteract their depredations, 

 else they will rob him of the benefits of a large 

 part of his previous laljors and expenses on 

 his orchard. In planting be sure there are 

 no borers in before the tree is set, and an- 

 nually thereafter (until the trees have attained 

 a diameter of three or four inches) wrap the 

 trunk with paper from tlie surface to the 

 ground to the height of about one foot. A 

 small mound will assist in keeping the tree in 

 place and prevent it coming off. Tic the tops 

 with woolen yarn to allow for expaiision. 

 This may be removed in October, and should 

 any borers have obtained a lodgment they can 

 easily be seen and removed with a sharp- 

 pointed knife or piece of steel wire. The 

 trees having arrived to a fruiting age we have 

 other enemies— the codling moth and curcu- 

 lio— to contend with. I know of no new 

 method for their destruction. The wash 

 spoken of in a former (niragraph of this article, 

 may assist l)y keeping the bark smooth and 

 clean ; prevent the former from obtaining a 

 hiding place while passing from a chrysalis to 

 a perfect insect. Have frequently thought 



these little pests might be attracted and 

 caught by small fires set ablaze soon after 

 dusk to entrap them on the wing. A batch 

 of straw tied to a pole with wire, and thor- 

 oughly saturated with tar, or some other in- 

 flammable matter, would be of but little ex- 

 pense and easily carried through the orchard 

 after dark. Gathering and removing the 

 fallen fruit that has been punctured is per- 

 haps the only means to lessen their depreda- 

 tions. 



Having sketched the ground ft-om the 

 planting of the tree to its maturity, it would 

 be most desirable to produce regular and 

 moderate crops instead of alternate failures 

 and excesses. This is the question now occu- 

 pying the attention of many orchardists, and 

 before long it is hoped we may know how to 

 produce a'crop the off-year. The evidence is 

 strongly in favor of thinning the excess while 

 the fruit is small, so as to give the tree a 

 chance to develop and mature fruit buds for 

 the coming year. 



ESSAY* 



On the question—" Which would be best, 

 to keep the cattle stabled all summer and feed 

 them on green fodder, or turn them into pas- 

 ture ?" 



I think keeping cattle in the stable, or in a 

 shady pen or shed would be best ; if we were 

 accustomed to keep them so, it would be 

 cheapest in the end. If we turn them into the 

 field they tramp down a good deal more than 

 they eat. It is, of course, a benefit to the soil 

 if the grass is tramped down, but if we cut the 

 grass and feed it in the stable, and haul out 

 the manure, it will benefit the soil more, and 

 we can feed more cattle ; moreover, we would 

 need little or no fencing. But iJeople in our 

 day would be apt to say, that costs too much 

 labor. But we will see which is the most 

 laborious, to haul home the green fodder oi 

 to keep the farm in fences. If a farmer has 

 no help of his own he can hire a boy strong 

 enough to do the work for about $1U.00 per 

 month, and six mouths is all the time he can 

 pasture ; that will be $60. Can we keep the 

 farm in fences for less than §60 a year ? That 

 would, of course, depend upon the size of the 

 farm ; but we will say a farm of 80 acres, 

 and, besides, we can raise a few rows of corn 

 and potatoes in places where every fence 

 stood. The way we have oiu: farms fenced 

 the fences take up at least three-quarters of 

 an acre of land. On that we might raise 

 enough of potatoes or corn to pay a hired boy, 

 and he can find time enough to cultivate it 

 besides feeding stock. We might as well 

 adopt this S3'stem at once, and take our old 

 fences for fuel while coal is so high in price ; 

 then, also, the fox hunters need not cut or 

 break our fences down. But under our present 

 laws we must have fences along our public 

 roads to keep out our neighbors hogs and 

 cattle. 



The stable must be well ventilated during 

 the hot weather. It Would, perhaps, be best 

 to have a pen or shed and keep our cattle in 

 the pen, night and morning, during the hot 

 weather. The stable should be kept open 

 during the night that it may become cool, and 

 closed in the morning to keep it cool, and then 

 towards noon put the cattle in and keep it 

 closed to prevent the flies from annoying them. 



^oiv, as to feed : Corn and clover are the 

 best food. Feed clover first, and sow corn in 

 drills from the 1st of May to the middle of 

 July— every two weeks— but sow the most in 

 May. When a drsuth comes after harvest tie 

 late sowing may be very short. In such a case 

 we can feed the early sown at the time of the 

 late if it fails, aud if not needed it can be 

 cured for winter use. It is in its best state 

 when the lower leaves begin to get yellow for 

 green feeding, and when half dead it is better 

 than second crop clover as a cured crop for 

 winter feeding. As corn is hard to cure it 

 should be a little old before cut for that pur- 

 pose. Sow the corn one kernel to the inch and 

 cultivate it. Some writers prefer sowing rye 



for the earliest green feeding, but there is no 

 gain in it. It takes too much seed, and when 

 once up in bulk it will soon turn to a strawy 

 state. Better feed dry fodder eight or tea 

 days longer, until we can get clover. Cut 

 clover when only six inches high ; mix a little 

 among the dry fodder ; increase as the grass 

 grows, and when it is in bloom stop dry feed. 



The most diftieult time is when the clover 

 gets too old. Corn must be fit by that time, 

 but the earliest cut clover can be cut again. 

 If too young the old and the young can be 

 mixed together ; but when the corn is once 

 fit we need nothing else. Green feed should 

 be cut in the morning after the dew is off, and 

 taken in before it gets warm. If cut and taken 

 in when it is warm it begins to get "heated" 

 immediately, but when taken in cool and set 

 up along a wall it will remain so for several 

 days. It is best to run it through a fodder 

 cutter. According to my experience cattle 

 will eat more of it when fed in this way. I 

 once commenced feeding it whole, but the 

 cattle soon left some of the stalks which they 

 would not eat. Then I commenced cutting 

 it in the same quantity, and then they ate it 

 all and I increased the quantity. It does not 

 require much additional work if we have 

 everything handy. Have the cutter in a con- 

 venient place all the time ; it cuts easy when 

 the knives are kept sharp. 



Two horses are all that are necessary. This 

 work can be done when the team comes home 

 at noon, and before it goes out after dinner; it 

 requires only about fifteen minutes of time ; 

 it should be cut every day. It may be cut for 

 two days by spreading it out thin on the barn 

 floor, and having the doors opened at night 

 and closed during the day to keep it cool. If 

 it lays too tliiek h will heat and get sour. 



We ouglit to have a low one-horse wagon, 

 with wheels only 20 inches high, and a plat- 

 form on it, 10 feet long and 5 feet wide ; also 

 a sickle to cut the corn. Then drive along- 

 side of the row ; cut three rows at a time ; lay 

 it on the wagon as you cut it, butts all on one 

 side. When you get enough drive into the 

 barn alongside of the cutting machine, aud 

 when you come to cut you will need no person 

 to hand fodder to you. 



Such a wagon is also handy to haul in the 

 grass, if we add sideboards to it. When every- 

 thing is convenient it requires only half the 

 labor to do the work in hand. 



Contributions. 



For The Lancaster Farmer. 

 MORE LIGHT WANTED. 



Editor Farmeb : Under the head of 

 "Moonlight," a writer {J. G.) in the January 

 number of The Farmer informs us that 

 potatoes want loose soil ; therefore, he says, 

 "plow in the rising of the moon if the soil is 

 clayey or heavy ;" but " should the soil be too 

 light or loose I plow in the setting of the 

 moon." Again, he says: "On stift' soil it 

 would be well if we could work the soil always 

 in the rising of the moon." As I am inter- 

 ested in potato raising, and am quite ignorant 

 in regard to th.e influence of the different 

 phases of the moon on plowing, planting and 

 cultivating, I will be greatly obliged to J. G. 

 if he will inform me and others who are like- 

 wise interested: 



1st. What is to be understood by the ex- 

 pressions— "rising" and "setting" of the 

 moon ? Does " rising," as used by him, mean 

 the time that orb is ascending in the heavens, 

 from the time it appears in the eastern horizon 

 until it reaches the meridian, from five to 

 seven hours afterward, each day, and the 

 " setting " mean its decline toward the west ; 

 or do these terms refer to the increase and de- 

 crease of the light portion of the moon, as 

 seen from the earth ? I would like to have 

 precise information about this, lest in attempt- 

 ing to follow J. G.'s directions I make a fatal 

 mistake. 



2d. Will J. G. oblige those who are seeking 

 light on the subject by stating the ground of 

 his belief that it is better to plow aud culti- 



