54 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ April 



distance may be increased. Let the plants 

 grow until the third year before cutting. 

 The coarse litter should be raked from the 

 old bed, to make it smooth and clean, before 

 the stems begin to come through the ground. 



Early Potatoes should be put into the 

 ground at the earliest possible date. When 

 started in boxes they may be greatly hastened; 

 in planting take care tliat the tender sprouts 

 are not broken off. The soil should be light 

 and warm for early potatoes. 



Flower Gardens and Lawns. 



Lawns. — Nothing is more pleasing tlian an 

 expanse of smooth, rich, green, nicely kept 

 grass. The lawn should be one of the features 

 of every pleasure ground, no matter how lim- 

 ited in extent, and in laying out the walks 

 and drives they should not divide the lawn 

 more than can be helped. In making a lawn 

 the soil should be first thoroughly manured 

 after which, tor heavy soils, Kentucky Blue 

 Grass seed should be sown in abundance; for 

 light soils Ked-Top is the best. It is well to 

 sow the seed in two or more directions, thus 

 securing a more even distribution, and there- 

 fore a better turf. — American Agriculturist. 



HAVE YOU A STRAWBERRY BED ? 



This question is put to every reader who 

 has the land, and especially to every farmer, 

 who, having the land, is very apt to not have 

 strawberries. Without taking space to in- 

 quire wbj' the farmer, who of all others should 

 have an abundance, so generally has no .straw- 

 berries, we put in our plea for hi.s family, and 

 insist tliat he shall provide them with tliis ex- 

 cellent fruit — not only a few as a luxury, but 

 an abundance. There is just one time to 

 make a strawberry bed, and that time is now! 

 Under any circumstances a strawberry plant 

 must grow a season before it will give a crop; 

 there is no way in which plants may be set 

 this spring and give fruit the same season. If 

 any "nursery agent" offers such — don't buy 

 them. Much that has been said about straw- 

 berry culture has conveyed the impression 

 that it is a great deal of trouble; that runners 

 have to be cut off and much care given other- 

 wise, while in fact it is no more trouble to 

 raise strawberries, than it is to grow carrots. 

 But the cost ? Is very little — nothing com- 

 pared with the result in fruit. One can begin 

 as small as he pleases; if he cannot afford the 

 outlay for a large bed, let him buy enough 

 for a start and raise his own plants. It makes 

 no difference where the farmer may be, if he 

 gets the Ainerican Agricult^irixt, he can have 

 strawberry i.ilants — the mail brings both. A 

 dozen, or a hundred plants come by mail, and 

 when one has even but a dozen "plants, his 

 strawberry future is i)rovidcd for. "It is the 

 first step which costs" is a proverb. In this 

 case "it is the first step which tells." While 

 we have in view especially the family comfort, 

 it may be well to consider that in most local- 

 ities enougli berries can be sold from the first 

 crop to pay for the whole outlay— only don't 

 sell and let the family go without, but have 

 enough for both demands. 



"'Hotu many shall I plant ?" will be one of 

 the first questions to decide. An ordinary 

 family should have at least 200 plants, and 

 generally 400 will not be found too many if 

 the fruit is used freely. It is better to provide 

 for an abundance. 



What kinds? — If restricted to one kind, we 

 have no hesitation in saying, Charles Down- 

 ing. If there ai'e successful strawberry 

 growers in the vicinity, find what does best 

 with them and plant the same kind. But we 

 do not advise planting all of one kind. If 400 

 plants are set there may safely be four kinds. 

 Charles Downing, ^Monarch of the West, 

 Champion, and Sharpless, would be a good 

 selection, but it may be varied and not go 

 amiss. 



Hmo to plant. — Select a good bit of soil, all 

 the better if it was in potatoes last year, and 

 if practicable within sight of the house, and 

 prepare it just as you would for a good crop 

 of cabbages; this means an abundance of the 

 best manure well worked in. Mark out the 



rows two feet apart, three if a cultivator is to 

 be used, and set the plants one foot apart in 

 the row, using a trowel to open the ground, 

 and when the plant is put in, crowd the soil 

 down firmly over the roots with both hands. 

 Thereafter run the cultivator, hoe, or rake, 

 often enough to make the soil mellow and 

 keep down the weeds. The plants will by and 

 by throw out runners; turn them into the 

 row and let tliem take root. For the after 

 treatment of the bed, consult "Notes about 

 Work" at the proper season. 



liaising plants. — If it is preferred to buy a 

 few plants to staff with and raise a stock to 

 put out next year, set these two feet apart 

 each way, and let runners form. Ashes are 

 very useful to promote a large growth of run- 

 ners. Finally, plant strawberries — and do it 

 this spring. — American Aqricultxirist. 



FENCING AND FENCES. 



Since this series of articles on Metal Feuces 

 was planned during our summer trip through 

 the West, there has been a very rapid and 

 great advance in the price of iron and steel. 

 In September, 1878, the Standard No. 1 An- 

 thracite pig iron was selling at $16(«'17 per 

 ton, and in September last it had only risen to 

 $22((r23 — that is, to a tritie over one cent per 

 pound. The last week in January it sold as 

 high as S43 per ton, and to-day (Feb. 6) is 

 quoted at $40(o 41 — an advance of fully 90 per 

 cent., or nearly double since last September 1. 

 This has resulted from the great deinand 

 arising from the wonderful revival of business 

 that took place as soon as our large crops 

 were secured and the generally poor condition 

 of crops througlii)ut Europe became fully 

 ascertained. This demand enables iron pro- 

 ducers to charge their own prices, and they 

 are realizing enormous profits. Such a state 

 of things may continue for a moderate period, 

 but when all the idle furnaces are in opera- 

 tion, and the new ones projected are in full 

 blast, prices will be likely to fall back to 

 figures affording only a fair profit. As a very 

 large part of the cost of iron and steel fence 

 materials depends upon labor, patent royal- 

 ties, etc., the actual cost of metal fencing has 

 not advanced correspondingly, and will not 

 do so. Yet this rise materially affects, for 

 the time being, the progress towards securing 

 iron fence posts that can successfully com- 

 pete with wood for ordinary farm use. But 

 even at the present vaL.e of iron, there arc, 

 or soon will be found, iron posts which will be 

 more than to use wood posts at a nominal 

 price. 



Iron and Wood Posts Compared. 



Suppose we take tlje present cost of iron 

 posts at 50 cents each. Several are now 

 offered at this rate and under. The tables 

 last month (page .51) estimated 100 rods of 

 post and board fence at SlOO; and of wire 

 fence with wooden posts at $67.2.5. Taking 

 similar figures we have 



FOR 100 RODS OF FENCES! 



( Galvanized Stetl Wire or Strnp, 4 Strands Hi'ih. i 



WOOD POSTS. 



400 Rods Wire, at lie. $44.00 

 100 Hoot; Posts, at 12XC. 12.S0 



400Suiples 78 



Labor about 16.00 



Total $101.50 



Total $T2.25 



Two men with a single horse and wagon 

 should distribute the material, drive the iron 

 iwsts'and put up 100 rods of wire in two days, 

 at a cost of .S7..50. This gives a cost for iron 

 posts over wood of 30 cents per rod (less than 

 2 cents per foot.) But for the increased out- 

 lay to start witli, we have a permanent fence, 

 one occupying the smallest possible amount 

 of ground, one scarcely needing any repairs 

 for half a century, and one indestructible by 

 fire. We are quite sanguine however, that 

 with the present interest and the great activ- 

 ity of inventive minds, we shall very soon 

 learn of some form of iron post that will be 

 botli effective and cheap, at a cost considera- 

 ably below .50 cents each. 



Non-Destructible, Non-Combustible Wooden 

 Posts. 



We are glad to learn that hopeful experi- 



IIKJN POSTS, 



400 Bods Wire, at lie. ..$44 00 

 100 /;o>! rosts. at mc... 50.00 

 Labor about T.oO 



ments are now being made towards producing 

 a wood fence post that shall be both non- 

 combustible by any ordinary fire, and prac- 

 tically non-destructible by the weather or 

 ordinary decay, and at an increased expense 

 of only a few cents per post. The informa- 

 tion is private and confidential as yet, and we 

 can not judge as to the probable success, but 

 we do not see why, with the Kyanizing piw- 

 cess long successfully practised, and with the 

 new application of asbestos there should not 

 be valuable results in the direction indicated. 

 Perhaps b)' applying such improvements to 

 the cheaper, more abundant varieties of wood, 

 we may get such prepared posts at about the 

 present cost of those made from cedar, 

 chestnut, and like comparatively durable 

 timber. 



An Important Point in Favor of Wire Fences 

 is referred to by several of our readers, which, 

 summarized in nearly the language of one of 

 them, runs thus : " I raise winter grain 

 mainly, and my fields are subject to snow- 

 drifts. Formerly I usually lost a pretty wide 

 sti'ip of wheat along the wooden fences, owing 

 to the heavy snow-drifts remaining so long on 

 a strip two to five rods wide on ai; least two 

 sides of the field. I have now four ten-acre 

 fields fenced with barbed wire and small 

 cedar posts. These do not check the wind so 

 as to produce snow-drifts, and I save wheat 

 enough to pay the cost of the wire in every 

 two or three crops, while the feno will out- 

 last half a dozen rail fences, I think. Two of 

 these fields adjoin pasture fields, and on the 

 sides next these pastures I have spiked slim 

 long poles upon the posts four feet from the 

 ground. These do not stop snow, but warn 

 olf animals, and so far I have had no acci- 

 dents." 



Another correspondent writes that his fruit 

 trees were often girdled by mice that found 

 good winter quarters in the snow-drifts along 

 his old wooden fences. Two years ago last 

 summer he substituted wire fences, partly 

 barbed and partlj' plain wire, and has had no 

 snow-drifts and no trouble from mice, by 

 taking the precaution to remove or trample 

 hard any considerable bodies of snow that 

 gathered around the trees ; and further, that 

 since the removal of the wood fences the mice 

 have had no breeding places, and they have 

 mainly disappeared, so that this winter he 

 will not take any trouble with the snow 

 around the trees. 



Specific Loss and Gain. 



A subscriber in Central New York, states 

 figures thus: " In autumn of 1878, I .sowed 

 winter wheat in a field with a high rail fence 

 on one side, 70 rods long. The snow-drift 

 killed a strip full 4 rods wide, or 280 rods — 

 just IJ acres. The rest of the field averaged 

 24 bushels per acre, and I sold my wheat at 

 $1.45 per bushel. The 42 bushels lost by the 

 snow, were worth .$60.90. Here was a" loss 

 on one crop of enough to have built a new 

 wire fence, with iron posts, along the whole 

 70 rods — a fence that would be permanent for 

 a life-time, and need no repairs." 



Another writes from Wisconsin: "I have 

 fields fenced with wood, and others with 

 wire. My observation is, that the latter can 

 on the average be worked at least a week 

 earlier in spring ; the former is wet and cold 

 on the borders, long after the rest, owing to 

 the snow which has been cau.sed to lie in 

 drifts by the wood fence. The wire fence 

 does not produce iierceptible snow-drifts." 



Mr. R. C. Mc Williams, an old subscriber of 

 the American Agriculturist in Northumber- 

 land county, Pa., personally gives us items 

 from his experience with barbed wire fence. 

 He has not discarded its use, and does not 

 absolutely condemn it ; liopes the embank- 

 ment described last month (page .52), or some 

 other device, will render it less dangerous. 

 He had a valuable cow that had one leg cut 

 down to the bone, "nearly half off," and the 

 flesh badly torn by the fence barbs. She was 

 a long time in a dangerous condition. A 

 $200 horse had both legs cut, and a wound on 

 the side, He had paid f 18 for a veterinary 



