62 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[April. 



plants the first season, and that the plants grow 

 beti er and pay larger profits the two or three suc- 

 ceeding seasons when the fruit is all removed during 

 the first season's growth. This is based on sound 

 principles, for all plants, when removed from the 

 original bed to new plats, necessarily receive more or 

 less of a check, and they will more readily overcome 

 this when they do not have their energies diffused by 

 attempting to perfect the fruit which was started in 

 the beds in which they were grown. 



By planting in the spring you destroy many weeds 

 by thoroughly preparing the soil then, while the 

 plants have the great advantage of getting a full 

 season's growth in loose, mellow soil, which is not 

 the case with fall planting, for the winter packs 

 down and hardens the soil. 



An Experiment in Planting. 



Last spring one of my neighbors concluded to try 

 an experiment in planting corn and potatoes, which 

 he conducted as follows : He prepared the ground in 

 the usual manner and marked rows each way, rather 

 closer than usual (about three feet each way). 

 Then commencing on one side of the piece of ground 

 (an acre or two), he planted two rows of Early Rose 

 potatoes, then two rows of corn, etc., alternating 

 between corn and potatoes. 



There are several advantages in this plan. The 

 potatoes complete their growth and may be dug 

 before the corn occupies the ground to any extent. 

 Also, the corn has the full benefit of the sun and 

 plenty of room, while the slight shade which the 

 potatoes receive from the corn when they are nearly 

 ripe, is rather beneficial than injurious. 



The potatoes were cultivated and hoed the same as 

 the corn and were not hilled. They produced an 

 excellent crop, much more than the same number of 

 hills planted in the usual manner, while the corn 

 yielded eighty bushels of ears to each acre of 

 ground ; but as only one-half the space should be 

 charged to the corn, it really produced one hundred 

 and sixty bushels to each acre occupied. Thus, 

 from each acre of ground he obtained'eighty bushels 

 of corn of the very best quality, and a good crop of 

 potatoes, the exact amount of which I was unable to 

 learn.— W. W. Farnsworth, in Practical Farmer. 



Uncovering Protected Plants. 



Many things wliich are supposed to be benefited by 

 being protected during the winter suffer by being 

 left too long protected at this season of the year. It 

 is more than likely that many more things are lost 

 by this extension of time to a protected article than 

 ever are lost by utter neglect of protection. Many 

 things are always covered which really need none, 

 and these are often lost by the length of time the 

 covering remains on them. Strawberry beds are 

 often covered with a deep mass of decaying matter 

 when they would have been just as well off" under 

 the naked atmosphere. 



So long as the weather remains cold there is no 

 injury from this litter, as it is termed ; but with a 

 few warm days the rotten mass begins to ferment, 

 1 decay is communicated to the healthy and 



and 1 



living vegetation. People think that articles once 

 covered are very tender, and that the slightest cold 

 will injure them ; but if a thing is tolerably hardy 

 much more danger will accrue from warm damp 

 than from dry cold. 



Those things which, like raspberries, have been 

 buried beneath the earth, will not suH'er so much as 

 those covered by decaying vegetable material ; but 

 yet these sliould not be taken out of the ground be- 

 fore the first of April, unless the sprouting should 

 be going on for sometime. 



Mulching. 

 This subject enlisted consideration at the late 

 Fruit-Growers' meeting. There appeared to be no 

 division of sentiment as to advisability, though we 

 know that all persons do not favor it. For ourselves 

 we have resorted to it as long as we have a garden, 

 and are sure that there is great benefit in it. Putting 

 grass, manure, weeds, sawdust, or pliable rubbish of 

 almost any kind around a newly-planted tree, secures 

 a prolonged moisture and more uniformity of tem- 

 perature. But this mulching should be removed 

 every three or four weeks and the soil underneath 

 well-stirred and fresh mulching applied. This way 

 it is of decided benefit and will save the life, or at 

 least secure the health of many a tree. Mulching 

 also protects the growth of tomatoes, egg-plants, 

 beans, etc. With regard to peas it should be applied 

 thickly, as it will tend to cool the ground, and the 

 higher the flavor of this delicious vegetable will be. 

 Some of the members at the meeting said they had 

 mulched acres and found it " to pay." One strongly 

 recommended seaweed for mulching, but as every 

 fruit-grower couldn't have a sea near him, this sug- 

 gestion will not probably be adopted by agreatmany. 



Gooseberries and Currants. 



There is no reason why both these very useful fruits 

 should not be found abundantly in every garden. 

 They are no trouble to raise. They grow readily 

 from cuttings. Take the wood of last year from six 



to ten inches in length, prepare the bed or place 

 where they are to stand permanently, force them into 

 the ground not less than four inches, press the ground 

 firmly around them, mulch them and let them alone. 

 If a buxh is desired let the buds on the cutting re- 

 main ; but if a tree or a single stem is preferred, 

 remove all the buds that would go beneath the sur- 

 face. Let them stand about three feet in the row, 

 and if there is more than one row let the rows he 

 four feet apart. 



In the spring the dead wood of both the goose- 

 berries and currants should be cut out, and the new 

 growth should be thinned where there are too many, 

 as it will interfere with the product. The best red 

 currant is the Dutch ; and the best gooseberries are 

 Doxvning's Prolific and Houghton's Seedling.— (?er- 

 mantowH Telegraph. 



Sprouting Potatoes. 



Sprouting the white potato will advance the crop 

 two weeks. They should be cut so that about two 

 eyes are allowed to each piece, and these should be 

 planted in hot-beds with very thin covering of toil ; 

 or it is better to plant in boxes and set these in a 

 hot-bed, so that after they are properly sprouted 

 they can be at once carried to the place of planting. 

 If the nights should be anyway cold, protect with a 

 thin covering of straw when the plants make their 

 appearance above the ground. Some persons who 

 want a large quantity sprouted, cut the potatoes as 

 desired, and spread them on boards, boxes or crates, 

 in a dark place, and when sprouted, say from an inch 

 to an inch and a half, expose them to the light, 

 moistening two or three times a week with tepid 

 water. They should be planted out so that there is 

 not more than two inches of soil over the top of the 

 sprouts. — Germaritown Telegraph. 



Domestic Economy. 



Some Items About Sugar. 



On an average, every man, woman and child in 

 the United States consumes each year about 30 

 pounds of cane sugar, and nearly 2 gallons of mo- 

 lasses, Ijesides maple sugar, honey and other 

 sweets .... 19 ths. of pure cane sugar is actually 

 made up of, and can be changed into, 8 lbs. of char- 

 coal and 11 lbs. of water ! Pure white starch is made 

 up of 8 lbs. of charcoal (carbon) and 10 lbs. of 

 water. Any boy can demonstrate this roughly by 

 putting a small quantity of sugar on a piece of thin 

 iron over a hot lamp or coals, and hold over it a 

 glass jar bottom up. The sugar will change to pure 

 charcoal, while the water will rise up and condense 

 on the inside of the jar, if it be kept cool, and he will 

 get nothing from the sugar but coal and water. The 

 chemist can easily take the 19 lbs. of sugar and 

 change it into 8 lbs. of charcoal and 11 lbs. of pure 

 water, though he has not yet learned how to put the 

 coal and the elements of the water together to pro- 

 duce the sugar. That requires the action of the 

 living plant .... Our sugar comes mainly from the 

 sugar cane grown in the Southern States (most from 

 Louisiana), and from the West India Islands. The 

 canes are somewhat like corn-stalks, but larger, 

 taller, with narrower leaves. The sap or juice of 

 the cane is pressed out between iron rollers, then 

 boiled down to syrup, which crystallizes Into sugar 

 grains in large vats .... Most of the sugar used in 

 Europe is from the juice of the sugar-beet. It is 

 similar to our cane sugar .... The raw sugar is re- 

 fined chiefly in Northern cities, by dissolving it, 

 straining it through cloth, and through burned 

 bones, after which it is boiled down until thick 

 enough to crystallize in grains. — Amcr. Agriculturist. 



Necessity of Sunlight. 

 Instead of excluding the sunlight from our houses, 

 says the Manufacturer and Builder, lest it fade car- 

 pets, draw flies and bring freckles, we should open 

 every door and window and bid it enter. It brings 

 life and health and joy ; there is healing in its beams ; 

 it drives away disease and dampness, mold, mer- 

 grims. Instead of doing this, however, many care- 

 ful housewives close the blinds, draw down the 

 shades, lock the door, shut out the glorifying rays 

 and rejoice in the dim and musty coolness and twi- 

 light of their apartments. It is pleasant and not 

 unwholesome during the glare of the noontide to 

 subdue the light and exclude the air quivering with 

 heat, but in the morning and in the evening we may 

 freely indulge in the sun bath and let it flood all our 

 rooms, and if at its very fiercest and brightest it has 

 full entrance to our sleeping rooms, so much the 

 better for us. Wire netting in doors and windows 

 exclude not flies and mosquitos only, but all other 

 insects, and those who have once used it will con- 

 tinue to do so. With this as a protection from in- 

 trusive winged creatures, one may almost dispense 

 with shades and shutters and enjoy all the benefits 

 of an open house without any annoyances so frequent 

 in warm weather. But better the annoyances with 

 sunshine than freedom without it. Statistics of 

 epidemics have shown that if they rage in any part 

 of a city they will prevail in houses which are ex- 



posed to the least sunshine, while those most exposed 

 to it will not be at all or slightly aft'ected. Even in 

 the same house persons occupying rooms exposed to 

 sunlight will be healthier than those occupying 

 rooms where no sunlight enters. 



The Hours for Children. 

 " An excess of two or three hours' study a day for 

 all children under twelve years of age is absolute 

 cruelty." This was the view taken by Dr. A. C. 

 Rembaugh, in an address on Thursday evening be- 

 fore the Social Science Association. "Two or three 

 hours' mental work daily throughout the year would 

 be far better than the present system. It would 

 reach down into all classes, especially those for 

 whom the public schools were particularly intended — 

 the unschooled twenty thousand of our city, and the 

 sixty per cent, of our children who graduate from 

 our primaries and secondaries. Poor parents cannot 

 afford to give the whole time of their children to the 

 schools, and it is better for the child's morals and 

 future usefulness that they cannot. Some kind of 

 handicraft should be begun in the primary school, 

 and should follow pupils all the way through, as it 

 would greatly benefit both their moral and physical 

 culture, and make them more useful and healthful. 

 The time under twelve years should be divided thus, 

 to insure future health and usefulness ; Twelve hours 

 in bed, three at mental, three at manual work and 

 six in open air exci-cise of some kind or other, culti- 

 vating the soil the most healthful and invigorating. 

 Crowding into cities, of all, and especially the poor, 

 should be discouraged. Each family should have its 

 own plot of ground for the exercise and work of the 

 children." — Philadelphia Record. 



How to Use Coal. 



Replenish a coal fire as soon as the coals begin to 

 show ashes on the surface ; then put merely enough 

 to show a layer of black coal covering the red. This 

 will soon kindle, and as there is not much of it, an 

 excess of heat will be given out. Many persons al- 

 most put out the fire by stirring the grate as soon 

 as fresh coal is put on, thus leaving all the heat 

 in the ashes when it should be sent to the new sup- 

 ply of coal. The time to stir the fire is when the new 

 coal laid on is pretty well kindled. This method 

 saves fuel, gives a more Buiform heat, and prevents 

 the discomfort of alternations of heat and cold. 



Never put the hands into butter. There is no ex- 

 cuse for so doing, and every sense of cleanliness for- 

 bids it. Even if the hands are clean, still as the 

 butter absorbs any and every impurity with which it 

 comes in contact, excessive perspiration of the hands, 

 or any humor of the blood might thus be imparted 

 to the butter. A wooden ladle should be used to lift 

 the butter from the churn, or turn it over while being 

 washed. 



Household Recipes. 



Sick He-4Dache. — This distressing complaint can 

 generally be relieved by soaking the feet in very 

 warm water, in which a spoonful of powdered mus- 

 tard has been stirred. Soak as long as possible, or 

 till the water gets cool ; it draws the blood from the 

 head. 



FL.4NNEL Cakes. — One quart of flour, two eggs, 

 one and one half pints of boiled milk (used cold), 

 two teaspoonsful of salt, three tablespoonsful of 

 yeast (added after the other ingredients have been 

 mixed). Beat light and set to rise till morning; 

 bake on a griddle. 



Cup Fruit Cake. — One cup of butter, two cups 

 raisins seeded and chopped fine, four cups fiour, two 

 cups brown sugar, one cup sour cream, three eggs 

 well beaten, one teaspoouful of soda, one of cloves, 

 four of cinnamon. Bake slowly and serve hot or 

 cold with sauce. 



Cookies for the Children. — One cup of sugar, 

 one cup sour cream, two eggs, one teaspoon soda, 

 Graham flour or fine middlings sufficient to roll out. 

 If any spice is wanted ginger is best — one teaspoon- 

 ful. If cream is not to be had, one cup of butter 

 and one of sour milk. 



Queen Biscuits. — Rub four ounces of butter into 

 eight ounces of flour and six ounces of lump sugar, 

 the yelks of two eggs, the white of one and a table- 

 spoonful of brandy ; roll the paste thin and cut with 

 a tin cutter ; egg over top of each with remaining 

 white, and sift on white sugar; bake in a warm oven. 



Boston Meat Pie. — Take cold roast beef, or 

 deed roast meat of any kind, slice it thin, cut rather 

 small, and lay it with gravy, sufficiently salted and 

 peppered, in a meat pie dish. Over the meat pour a 

 couple of sliced tomatoes and a thick layer of mashed 

 potatoes. Bake slowly, and you have a fine meat pie. 



Cranberry Rolls.— Stew one quart of cranber- 

 ries in sufficient water to keep them from browning. 

 Make very sweet, strain and cool. Make a nice paste, 

 and, when the cranberries are cool, spread them on ' 

 the paste an inch thick. Roll it, tie close in a flannel \ 

 cloth, boil two hours, and serve with sweet sauce. 



