94 rf? 



THE 'ILANCASTER^ FIARMER. 1 



[Junlefi^Hl 



a half feet from the elem, leaving- ■ the smaHer ami 

 wciikiji- qpes, longer, and goiu;? hulf way lound, as 

 alrfudy stated. , Tlic operation was repeated three 

 or four .yearellatcr, by exteudinc the cut circle a 

 foot or two farther away from the tree. , By t-hi? 

 operation;' unproductive trees hecanie completely 

 studded with fruit spurs, and afterwards bore pro- 

 fusely.. This shortening of the roots had been eon- 

 tinuedlin .these; experiinents for twenty years with 

 much success— the circle of roots remaining greatly 

 circumscribed., Tlie best lime for the worii has been 

 found to be in the latter part of August aud begin- 

 ningof September,|when.'growth has nearly ceased, 

 and' while the leaves are yet ou.the Irecs^— causing a 

 greater increase' of bloom-buds tlje following j-ear 

 than ivhfu performed after (he leaves have -fallen. 

 In one case twelve-foot trees w^re cut half way about 

 in one year, and the remaining half tiie next, and 

 the third year a part were transplanted : and so little 

 did thoy suffer from the removal, after the ehoiten- 

 ing of roots, .that ithey bore a good half-crop the 

 same year. 



It cannot, of course, be applied to extended 

 orchards, but. only to a few valued trees which grow, 

 fast and, bear slowly ;'']aud there are Bituations_when 

 bringing the roots dcnsly within a smaller compas.?, 

 may, favor the advantageous application of mantu-e^ 



It must be constantly borne in miud that the ex- 

 tent and frequency of the pruning should depend, on 

 the conijitiou of the trees, some requiring little cut- 

 ting of the roots, while others may need a more 

 severe applicatifin of the process ; the distance of 

 the pruning from the stem of the trees., its amount 

 and frequency varying greatly with their (condition 

 and degree of vigor. ' 



•' ' Garden Hei^bs. 



Every well-ke|it garden shotdd have a due propor- 

 tion of garden herbs, but with the exception of some 

 coarse fellows which know how to take care of 

 themselves, such as catnip aud chamomile, there are 

 seldom any to be found. Those popular and useful, 

 sage, thyme and parsley, are seldom grown except 

 by those who make specialties of them for the 

 market.,, ,..,--.,.,,. 



Of parsley we have frequently , given hints, ,, In 

 substance we stated that it must be sown very early 

 and on cool, rich ground ; and that if the seeds did 

 not appear for a month, still one should have pa- 

 tience, for it is one of those dgljberate sort of fellows 

 which often take a long time to decide what they 

 intend to do about it. 



In regard to sage, many' have it for a ^ear or so,' 

 when it disappears. To have sage CrtntinuoHsiy; it 

 is best tO' treat it every second year as we would box- 

 edgings, that is, it should be taken up, split apSrt, 

 and set in the ground much deeper than It was the 

 year before. Koots then come out from the vigorous 

 young wood, aud the plants seem better adapted to 

 stand extremes of heat and cold than when the 

 branches al'e exposed on long stalks. Sage is not so 

 liable to get killed out in the winter when it is cut 

 back hard in the fall as when il Is left untouched. 

 Many cut back some of it for drying. Indeed, dried 

 sage is the form in which it is chiefly used. When 

 this is done regularly the plants do no' need re- 

 planting often. ^^ ' 



Thyme usually manages to Uv,e through in this 

 part of the world, though nothing be done to it; 

 but it is also better for l)eing cut back close every 

 fall, and for au occasional replanting. 



Salt the Garden. 



Gardens should be salted very liberally, for by so 

 doing you will have no worm eaten tradishes, mag- 

 goty onions, club-footed cabbages, or any other 

 vegetable grown in it iu.|ured by , worms, grubs, or 

 any -vcrmia. that iuliest the soil. Every one that 

 raises asparagus knows the necessity of using salt 

 abundantly. One can scarcely use too much. Many 

 who grow cabbages know its value when applied to 

 the roots or gi'owing head; but every one does not 

 know that growing onions maybe buried under salt, 

 leaving only the tops out, aud that the onion will 

 grow thriftily, while all maggots or worms will die 

 or disappear — yet such is the fact. 8alt mixed with 

 wood aslies in the i)rOportion of one of .salt to four of 

 wood ashes, applied at the rate of a handful to the 

 centre of each hill of corn immediately alter plant- 

 ing, will supersede the use of scare-crows and coal- 

 tar, as no worm or crow will touch it, besides giving 

 the fertilizing properties of the compound. A friend 

 residing in Edmestown, Ostcgo county, who had 

 broken up four acres of sward upon which to jilaut 

 corn, found it to be so very wormy, thit he dared 

 not plant it, until I gave him the above receipt, 

 which he used after planting. In the fall he told 

 nu- that, although his lot had woods upon three 

 sides of it, he did not lose a single hill by worm^or 

 crowl Tlw fact is worth remembering, i ,- 



I rows — apples and peaches— one rod apart. After 



.1 the second year, and the blackberries get well into 



I Ifcaring, We scatter along in the blackberry rows 



(ai'ter leaves have fallen and they have ceased their 



;, growth), coarse barnyard manure, old straw that is 



partly rotted, coal and wood ashes, or leaves from 



the woods near by — in fact, anything in tbe way of 



I manure or mulching material that is most conveni- 



I cnt aud cheap. 



I We have another, a younger orchard, in which we 

 ' planted red raspberries, a year ago, in hills', two hills 

 I between each row of trees each way, (trees — peaches 

 j and apples, a rod apart each wiy.) This fall we 

 I shall not only throw a shovelful of well-rotted com- 

 post around each tree, but also a-ound each plant. 

 By this mode of applying the mauilre one will see 

 that it is equally distributed overall the ground, and 

 that the extremity of the tree roots (tbe very part 

 needing it the most) are well supplied. 



In, another young orchard we have strawberries 

 planted, and on the plants we have scattered bone 

 dust liberally this summer on some, and on others 

 (loured liquid manure from the barnyard, so that not 

 only are the small fruitfi benelited, but the trees alsot 

 If one expects to crop the ground under the trees 

 year after year without feeding it back, why of. 

 cohrse it is "hard on tteea."— Fruit Hecorder. 



Domestic Economy. 



I . ' Hints on Household Matters. i' 



MENDING A CABPET.^-My dinlng-room carpet 

 Wils only a rag carpet to begin with ; latterly it had 

 become a ragged one. I wajJ contemplating it rue^ 

 fully one day, knowing that tlie state of my purse 

 wciuld not allow me to replace it justyet with a new 

 oue. I could think of no way to mend it, but by big 

 patches tacked in place. In the midst of ray di- 

 lemma an experienced old lady entered, who sug- 

 gested paste instead of tacks. "I have repeatedly 

 put rauslin patches over the carpet with paste," said 

 she, "and it is surprising how well it holds." I took 

 the hint. Patches are not, in their nature, beautiful, 

 yet a patched garment is decidedly better-looking 

 than a ragged one, and the same is true of a patched 

 catpet,and my patches were so easily applied and 

 proved so adhesive, that I rarely sweep ttie room 

 without a mental benedictioniupon the oue who sug- 

 gested It. ■ -. ■ I', in.r". ■•(■^ >:l"l'-- ■/■ : ":-■■■■■,.: 



Ct'TTiNieHoT BKBAp.i—GD6;<iayc<3mpany arrived 

 unexpectedly. 8uppei- was just over and no bread 

 had been left. I had just taken from the oven some 

 delicious looking li.eht bread, but it was too hot to 

 cut. We live in a country place where there is no 

 baker. In my bewilderment I happened to remem- 

 bei- that in Mrs. Whitney's Cook Book "Just How," 

 she suggests heating a knife, in order to split open a 

 hot short-cake. Why, thought I, may not smoking- 

 hot light bread, he sliced, with a l)Ot knife I It is the 

 cold surface of the steel applied to the warm dough 

 that produces a disagreeable clamminess. ' T heated 

 my carving knife and tried' it. The bread sliced 

 beautifully, and as I piled it up to bring it to the 

 table T put it on a plate dpoh which I had laid a 

 fresh napkin, for the contact of the hot bVead with 

 the cold plate would have produced the same sodden 

 clammineSiS on tlie surface of the lower slice. Of 

 course I woiild not recommend ' the slicing of hot 

 loaves except upon emergeticies. As a freqiient diet 

 it might prove injul-ious, but not mOre so than other 

 warm breads. '','''-' i '.''."; ' 

 i! ptjtTitNri A#'A+!Tt)HS:'iJ^A'Veriy little thing,' yet 

 worth knowing. '"Ohe'Veek' taf regltlar washer- 

 woman could not come, but sent a substitute: When 

 she returned', on the following week, I found her 

 tuggjng away 'at a neM. of tubs, finding il almost im-- 

 poisible'to pull' the' iiiher oiie from the enclasping 

 outer one. "I never have this trouble," said she. 



Isn't it Hard on Trees ? 



Is a question we arc often asked in connection with 

 planting small fruits among them. Yes, if you don't 

 feed the soil to give back as much or more than they 

 takeoff. We have planted in our orchard a row of 

 blackberries in'trCc rows? arid one row between tree 



when I put the tubs a\yay m5-self." "How do you 

 avoid it?" I questioned. "Why do you not see site 

 has put all the' handles in a. straight line. Now, I 

 always set therti away io that no t*o handles shall 

 come together.' Then, If they do swell; I e»n have 

 thorough use of the handles, and with them the tubs ' 

 ifre soon scpatated." ^-^ ■■.■-.■■, 



TtTRNfrs (IN- THE (.iiilDDLit.— I had Been for some 

 time 4 statement gbijig the i-oilnds of newspapers, 

 that a turnip used in 'nibbing the J;riddle, while 

 cooking griddle-cakcs. Would give the desired 

 smoothness and do away with the unpleasant smoke. 

 I doubted it> but a trial soon cohvinced me that the 

 statement was cbrrect. I foUud, however, that at 

 times, it was tiecessaTy, When beginning, to put a 

 very little grease on the turnip, but this made no 

 aiipretialjle smoke. ' , ' 



Kic.UT AND LEFT.-^Mylittleboy was left-handed, 

 fhad found, by experience, that school-life would be 

 particularly irksome to him, if that defect were not 

 Fcmedied hefoi-e he began school . It Was useless for 

 the to try to persuade'him to'draw pictures on his 

 little slate with the right hand. That hand was 

 really weaker thin the other ; he co'uhl not guide It. 

 'So I made little pictures on the slate, nothing intri- 

 cate, then rubbed them oft' with my finger till only 

 the dim outline could be seen. These I required him 

 tb trace. The weak hand that could not originate a 

 line, could, little by little, approximate the rubbeil 



ill 



.:1,t 



outlines . Afte-rwtirds, by tlio ■ sefmc plan; i naught 

 him tO'Write the letters lOfitbie alphabet, >aod Ijy thQii' 

 time he was old enough to go to eohool, -he hai(^: ,,•:/ 

 learned to use his right baud.-— jl»if>',. 'Agric-uU%tvm\;nl(i 



—— ^— ♦■- :' :.• ('■■,Ji:'.u« 



The Sewage Waste of the Family, .irl^jjisi 



We are making some progress, botli ou the farn}'"'"' 

 and in the village, in utilizing the contents of the , .'^' 

 sildc-drain, and the water-closet, or the earth-closet. ' ™ 

 But still there is great room for iiliprovement. |lVe 

 consume in our families abundance of animal food, 

 furnishing all the materials out of which plants are 

 made. These fertilizing matters are nearly all •" 

 wasted, unless there is spme contrit^aiice to incjorr ,■ 

 porate them with the soil. -If properly saved,, th'c '' 

 wastes of the family w-ould fertilize the half-acre 

 garden adjoining the dwelling, and make it produce ' 

 maximum crops of fruits and vegetables for the 

 supply of the table. We haVe tried the two. most'; 

 common methods, that of composting fecal matters, '. 

 and that of turning them into a cistern for the 

 manufacture of liquid manure.. While botli are 

 good, and each has its advantage, We prefljr the ap- 

 plibation of these wastes in the form of liquid ilia- 

 nure. There is not much choice ii) dither case as to 

 the labor to be expended in conveying fertilizers ttiT 

 the soil. The use of the liquid manure involves'a"''" 

 little more expense in the fixtures. For this pUrposb''H« 

 a cistern is needed of suflicient capacity to hold all ' 'd 

 the water used in the family for six or eight Wcekfej'''i" 

 The privy vault enlarged and cemented will answfcr '■'' 

 a ^ood purpose'. A large earthen or iron pipe fotJt'""a 

 orimore inches in diameter, should conduct the sink u-'n 

 BufJ laundry water into this cisternj This liquid-^ 

 mannre can be used to advantage at all seasons' of 'J'"' 

 th^ year . For the seven momths or more it is avaW-i "'■" 

 ab|e for direct application to growirig vegetables and ' "• 

 frijits In the garden, and for the winter Keasonit eati "3 

 be pumped on to the compo^ heap where all the 

 vegetable wastes of the garden, and leaves, and 

 m£ck, are fermenting for next season's use.' this 

 liquid not only furnishes plaht food, but supplements' 

 the rain-fall which i.s oftentimes quite deficient fo^-s'? 

 maximum crops. So' great is the satisfaction offU 

 seeing luxuriant vegetation in the gardeuj and ofi'hl 

 eating well-grown fruit and veg'etableB,' that vrsUm 

 should use liquid manure even if it was mare exiJeti- i;ui 

 sive.— C/J7ij/.ec/icuf, iit Ainericint. Agricidtii>i'int\' it ailil 



I' -il..: Curing FrUit by' Cold.; ■'■■■'">■■ i-iioo 



■' .iil'eit^evihient was made at a foundry iii'pWdilf-""'^ 

 ville', lately, in fruit-cui'iug, by blasts "of Cold air. : Ih'''''' 

 tbjs experiment about a peck Of sliced apples w'ere' '" 

 placed in a sieve and subjet/ted to' a cold air blast for' 'Ij^ 

 three hours ill the cupbia furnace of the lloUndr'j'j'' " 

 and the fruit is reported, to have been completely "P^ 

 anil beautifully cured by the Hreatment, remaitiing' '■'" 

 soft witlioUt the slightest disc'oloration. We were 

 abbdttb say dried, but cured is a better WQrd, for ' '^ 

 thire \*-a8 none of that hard, harsh, stiff 'arj'iiiss"^3 

 about it whith frequently results by sun-heat' oi- fire-''!'* 

 hew.. The experiment was a iilost' gratifying sici-' '.'''' 

 qess, and, in our judgment, is fi'aught with resliltfe'^"''' 

 (if great importance to the ifrow'ersahd Inaliiptilatdfs'""! 

 of fruit. The blast of cold air complete!}' freis'the ' ^' 

 fruit from its excess of moisture, with no possibility!''''' 

 of biirning or shriveling it. Compared with tour"" 

 sun-drying, it effects a great saving, expenSej'attem'''"' 

 tioiu and risk. Anyhody who can command oi' "de- '"' 

 vi^e a strong blast of cold air, can dry 1'ruit in' a ■" 

 Buperior-^we might say perfi Ct — mahner, >vit'hout ' . 

 bein^ dependent on the weather aiid U-aitiiigbft'tHe' "■ 

 slow pltocese'pf 'sun-dryiirg, and without the ■fci<irt! "-'S 

 exbenMyiS resold to fuel and risk of -overheating'.'"' 1 '"' 



I-' I i;3-fiill ' ' J.n 1.-^ '.'H I, .':i 1 '.. :.-i'! "11.1 ,')lnill;d-ili(B1 



' dtooma 



' ' ; ;'' ' '■'"" ■' ' Use Omohs,;:'^ ,'■';; ;;; 



The'iyeallhy properties of onions l)avc ,heve' 

 fully understood. Lung- and liver complaints 'a're.^'^^'J 

 certainly benefited, often cured, by a free (■onsufflp-'^'''^jj 

 tjoh of onions, either cooked or raw. Cold,-* yield' to_;' ^, 

 tjipni like ma.iric. Don't be al'ra^d of thcni._ 'I'aKOn'' ^j 

 atjniirht all oil'eiicc will be wanting by raornihg^,' aiid ^^^ 

 the good effects will amply compensate fo'r/ tlie!' 

 trifling annoyance. Taken regularly they piYiftiote. 

 the health of tbe lungs and '^tlie digestive organs!' 

 Ai) extract made by boiling down the juice of onion's' 

 to, a Syrup, and taken as a medicine, answers 'tUc 

 purpose very well, but fried, roasted or boilefi onions 

 are better. Onions are very cheap medicine, within' 

 everybody's reach, and they are not by any rncaus'ii^ 

 "bad to take" as the costly ,noStrutn.p^^a U(Su;l'edt' ^f , 

 their use niay riecessilat'e;.' ' ' ' ' ,''■"'.''■ ",'.', ' ,",''', .,,,: 



, -^ ^-r— . 'ii-i! -ris 



Cpcoanuts for Hanging Baskets. ..m'idT 

 ,(. I'he shell of the cocoanut is so hard, and duratjle,,;,, 

 that it can serve an excellentjiurpose as a hanging 

 basket lor small plants. If cut across in the middle, 

 a single shell will make ^wO baskets ; it is perhajis 

 more-artistic to remove one-third of the spacer o( the/. 

 shell' and use the rest. The shell of itself is '.'fuatloil • 

 Und harmonizes with plants. : -o .li ;.'^ll^ u;!; ui las 

 •! , . i — ' — - — rm- — ' ' i 'l; ■/ di'io'// io*> uotaintyj 



' ' To Clean WastCr-Pipes; '■ - of,!'! -iiiioy 



Dissolve ' four or Ave pounds of washing sAdailtf '»" 

 boiling water, and throw down the kitchen sink', 'iltsni 

 will prevent the pipes stopptag''tipwith:greaee4 I'Do'ii" 

 this every few weeks. , :^>--: "-'il^i -ni ;.jt.;,,f,i; »« luiilq 



