40 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[March, 



mer varieties; from 9 to 16 autumn (early and 

 late;) and 17 and 18 winter, thus affording a 

 sufficient number for each of the periods of 

 the best known sorts for this region. 

 Dwarf Pears. 



1. St. Michael d'ArchaDge 7. Belle Lucrative, 



2. Bartlett, 8. Lawrence, 



3. Cornice, 9. Ott, 



4. Rostiezer, 10. Louise Bonne, 



5. Diel, 11. Bosc, 



6. Tyson, 12. Boussock. 



13. Glout IMorceau. 



1. Maiden's Blush, 



2. Baldwin, 



3. Smokehouse, 



4. Northern Spy, 



5. Smith's Cider, 



6. Fallawater, 



Apples. 



7. Cornell's Fancy, 



8. Red Astrachan, 

 0. Wagener, 



10. Porter, 



11. Gravenstein, 



12. Tompkin's King, 



13. Roxbury Russet. 

 "We add to the foregoing list Tompkin's 

 King and Roxbury Russet, both most excel- 

 lent varieties; indeed the King is regarded by 

 some as unsurpassed. Northern Spy is also 

 restored. 



Peaches. 



1. Crawford's Early, 6. Crawford's Late, 



2. Hale's Early, 6. Ward's Late, 



3. York Early, _ 7. Smock's Late, 



4. Old Mixon, * 8. Susquehanna. 

 There is no solid reason to change this list 



so far as it goes. We suggested to peach- 

 growers to favor us with a list of their own, * 

 and a few did, but where they differed from 

 ours we did not deem them an improvement. 

 Grapes. 



1. Telegraph, 4. Clinton, ' 



2. Concord, 5. Salem, 



3. Hartford, 6. Rogers' No. 32. 



We have added to the list Rogers' No. 32, 

 which, should it maintain its present char- 

 acter, will be the best out-door variety culti- 

 vated. It is a beautiful pink, or rather 

 maroon, colored grape, and at times is trans- 

 parent. It bears regular crops yearly with us. 

 Clinton, in the foregoing list, is only for wine, 

 and is probably the very best for that purpose. 

 Cherries. 



1. May Bigarreau, 6. Elton, 



2. Belle de Choisy, 7. Downer's Late, 



3. Black Tartarian, 8. Early Richmond, 



4. Black Eagle, 9. Early Purple Guigno, 



5. Black Hawk, 10. Del. Bleeding Heart, 

 The ripening of the list will range from the 



earliest to the latest, thus carrying one 

 throun;h the whole cherry season. No one can 

 go amiss in adopting this list. 

 Raspberries. 



1. Hornet, 3. Philadelphia, 



2. Herstine, 4. Brandywiue. 



Strawberries. 



1. Captain Jack, 3. Sharplcss, 



2. Seth Boyden, 4. Triomphe de Gand. 



Currants. 

 1. Black Naples, 2. Red Dutch, 



3. White Grape. 

 These three varieties are the best among 

 the different colors. The Red Dutch is a reg- 

 ular bearer and is of better quality than any 

 other. There are others larger, but they are 

 more acid. The white grape is transparent, 

 of good quality, and ought to be more gener- 

 ally grown, but it is not a great bearer. 



Gooseberries. 

 1. Houghton, 2. Downing. 



These are the two best gooseberries grown 

 in this country. They bear every year heavy 

 crops, are free from mildew, and are of excel- 

 lent quality. They are large enougli for all 

 practical purposes. Keep clear of the giants 

 and their big prices. 



Blackberries. 



1. New Rochelle, 



2. Missouri Cluster, 



The Snyder, a new Western Blackberry, is 

 highly spoken of at distant points, but we 

 prefer to wait another year before recommend- 

 ing it, in the meantime giving it a trial. 



It is better that those wIjo intend to culti- 

 tivate fruit and have to make purchases, to 

 take this list with them to the nursery, and 

 adhere to it as far as possible. 



3. Wilson's Early, 



4. Snvder. 



In selecting fruit trees, or any others, be 

 cai'eful to choose those with smooth, healthy- 

 looking bark, have entirely shed their leaves, 

 and have plenty of small fibrous roots. Trees 

 on which the leaves remain after frost sets in 

 and stick to the branches in the spring, may 

 be regarded as not healthy, and in some way 

 lacking stamina. — Germantown Telegraph. 



HINTS FOR MARCH \AAORK. 



Spring Work. — The spring of the Almanac 

 now begins; but the spring-like weather dur- 

 ing a large portion of this winter has al- 

 lowed the spring work of the Middle, South- 

 ern and AVestern States, to be greatly for- 

 warded. For the first time in many years, 

 the writer has been ploughing through nearly 

 the whole of .January, and hundreds of other 

 farmers have done the same. Fencing, 

 ditching, clearing woodlands and even sowing 

 grass-seed, has been extensively done, as 

 though spring had already come. Sometimes 

 "the most haste is the worst speed," and it 

 remains to be seen, if, after all, the .season's 

 work will be benefited. It is a peculiar time, 

 in which caution should be exercised, lest 

 work done too soon, may need to be done 

 over again. 



A Strong Plant Digests its Food better than 

 a weak one; and its appetite, so to speak, is 

 more vigorous, precisely as is that of a strong, 

 healthy young animal. It is with the plant 

 as with the animal; early feeding, and vigor 

 of growth, bring early and vigorous maturity. 

 The farmer should study to get early a strong 

 and healthy growth. 



Fodder Crops. — It has been proved repeat- 

 edly, that one acre of good green fodder will 

 feed two cows through the summer. Fodder 

 crops must be put in"early. A mixture of oats 

 and peas is the best crop for early cutting, to 

 come in after the first clover, which follows 

 the rye. The two sown together will yield, 

 on one acre, about as much as if sown sepa- 

 I'ately on two acres. This may be doubted, 

 but it is true. Tall growing leafy oats, and 

 tall peas, yield the most fodder; the "Black- 

 eye Marrowfat" pea, grown in Canada as a 

 field crop, is the best for our use, the seed 

 being free from weevil. For a second crop, 

 the earliest small "Canada Gray" pea may be 

 sown. The fodder is in the best condition for 

 cutting when the peas are in full blossom. 



Gi'ass Lands. — It is a mistake to suppose 

 that our climate forbids the success of perma- 

 nent grass for meadows and pastures. If the 

 right kind of land is chosen, low, moist, and 

 full of vegetable matter, and is kept well ma- 

 nured, and occasionally re-seeded, we can 

 have permanent grass as well as other coun- 

 tries. But it is necessary to sow, and encour- 

 age a number of kinds of grass, those with 

 creeping roots being preferable, if the quality 

 is good. This subject is worthy of study and 

 experiment. 



Poultry. — "The early chick gets the early 

 worm," and the sooner begins to feed itself. 

 March pullets are those which fill the egg 

 basket in the winter time. Therefore set all 

 the Viroody hens for which eggs can be pro- 

 cured as soon as possible, and take great care 

 of the chicks which come in this month. A 

 warm run out of doors may be made under a 

 hot-bed sash, arranged between two coops, 

 and laid on boai'ds set on their edges. 

 The Fruit Garden. 

 In selecting a spot for a fruit garden, choose 

 a warm place, and as near the house as possi- 

 ble, that it may be both convenient for gath- 

 ering, aiid more secure from trespassers. The 

 .soil should be well drained, deep, mellow, and 

 enriched with well rotted manure. The im- 

 portance of a good selection of varieties can- 

 not be too strongly insisted upon. For a list 

 of the leading kinds of the various fruits see 

 the January number Notes; for others see the 

 Catalogue of dealers. The selecting of new 

 sorts for the main reliance, is not recom- 

 mended. Let the bulk of the planting be of 

 old, and thoroughly tested varieties, rather 

 than of new and untried kinds 

 Planting. — So soon as the ground is settled, 



plant the trees, shrubs, etc., that they may 

 get an early start, and be well established by 

 the time drouths come. Like animals, much 

 depends on early growth. 



Blackberries and Baspberries start very early, 

 and it is best to set them in the fall; but very 

 early in the spring will answer. The canes 

 produced this year will bear the fruit the fol- 

 lowiug season. 



Strawberries. — Old beds are to be uncovered. 

 The method of cultivating the vines in rows 

 three feet apart, is now generally considered 

 the most satisfactory. See article and en- 

 graving of the "Sharpless" Strawberry, on 

 page 103 of this number. 



Grapes. — Every farmer's family should 

 have all the grapes they can eat, from Sep- 

 tember to January. It is not necessary to 

 have a large vineyard for this; a few vines, 

 each of the best sorts, and properly treated, 

 will give a great amount of fruit. There 

 are hundreds of out-of-the-way places where 

 a vine may be set, such as along a fence, 

 or it may be by the side of a shed or barn ; 

 with good soil, and care in pruning, satisfac- 

 tory returns may be expected. — American 

 Agriculturist. 



^ 



COUNTRY ROAD MAKING. 



The transportation question is one of great- 

 est importance to American farmers. It is 

 probable, however, that the phase of this 

 subject that has been least discussed by pub- 

 lic journals — the making and mending of 

 countrj' roads — is quite as important and less 

 understood than any other. A large propor- 

 of American farm products never reach the 

 railroads. They are consumed on the farm 

 or in the villages and cities whither the 

 farmer's team and wagon convey them. Most 

 of these farmers live so far from market that 

 one full day at least is consumed in market- 

 ing a load of produce. If the roads are uni- 

 formly good and level a team will draw two 

 tons of grain more easily than on ordinary 

 roads they will draw half that amount. This 

 may seem to some too great a diflerence, but 

 it is because we have too few really good 

 roads. Too little attention is paid to grading. 

 In a long stretch of level roads, a slight hill 

 may compel every teamster to put on much 

 less than he should be able to do. lu such 

 case it would be better to grade the hill, if 

 that be possible, or go around it. The meas- 

 ure of value of a road is what a team can 

 draw over the hardest part of it. 



There is a decided increase in the selling 

 value of farms which always have a good and 

 level road to market. I do not believe the 

 importance of having good roads is apprecia- 

 ted as it should and will be, but there is 

 already an understanding on this subject 

 which makes intelligent road improvement 

 profitable. As a rule, most of the work an- 

 nually put upon countrj' highways is wasted. 

 Consciousness of this fact is one reason why 

 such work is generally shirked as far as pos- 

 sible. Most men will not work at their road 

 tax as they do on their farms for themselves. 

 If they could know that their work on the road 

 was as directly for their own benefit as that 

 which they do in every day farm work, this 

 would not be so. To have men engage 

 earnestly in road making, it must be shown 

 that their labors are lu'oducing good results. 

 As it is worse now, very often the harder men 

 work the worse will he the roads. 



The severe winters and superabundant 

 rains and snows of our northern climate, 

 make the keeping of roads in repair extremely 

 difficult. We have hardly begun to appreci- 

 ate the importance of underdraining to keep 

 roads in good order. It is, on all heavy soils, 

 the first thing to be done. In neighboorhoods 

 where farmeis underdrain their land, the 

 roads are nuich better than where they do 

 not. Very often the drain crosses the road, 

 and always at a point where it will be of most 

 advantage. With an underdrain three feet 

 deep crossing a road, and usually in a depres- 

 sion, it should be easy to keep a long stretch 

 of road always dry. This is the place to pnt 

 in a piece of macadam turnpike — two or three 



