44 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[March, 



After the noon-day heat has silenced the 

 earl}' performers, the song sparrow, chipping 

 sparrow and indigo bird continue to sing at 

 intervfils during the greater part of the day. 

 The song sparrow has been assigned a high 

 place among singing birds. IJis song is cer- 

 tainly ver\' soft and sweet, without a harsh 

 note in it. We hear it mostly from the hedge 

 row.s, and along the edges of tlie grain or pas- 

 ture fields. 



Tbe sprightly little indigo bird selects the 

 highest twig of some tall tree in the vicinity 

 of his nest to pour out his noon-day song. 



Last and least is the chipping sparrow, 

 greeting us from the fence posts, along the 

 highways and country lanes, with its peculiar 

 but pleasant little song not unlike that of a 

 summer locust. 



Having thus spoken in behalf of some of 

 our •' winged friends " as time would allow, 

 leaving, however, many of them unmentioned, 

 and many of the good things which might be 

 said" in their favor unsaid, the next question 

 naturally suggests itself : How can we best 

 preserve these winged institutions, whieh 

 have become interwoven with some of our 

 earliest and happiest recollections of rural 

 life, and hand thein down to posterity unim- 

 paired ? 



The woods, of course, have ever been the 

 great nursery for birds. We do not mean 

 the endless forests, which at one time covered 

 this country, but belts of timber with plenty 

 of undergrowth lying between farms, adjoin- 

 ing the cultivated laud, and along the streams. 

 These gave plenty of room and material for 

 nests, were within convenient reach of the 

 sunlight,of the fields and the food there found ; 

 at the same time there was some protection 

 from man against birds of prey. 



As our woods are cleared away we should 

 endeavor to provide other shelter, by saving 

 the trees, wherever possible, upon the farm; 

 by planting thickets of young timber in such 

 places where the land cannot be profitably 

 cultivated. Hedge-rows become good nest- 

 ing places for the smaller. kinds of birds, and 

 afford protection when pursued by hawks. 

 Evergreens planted for ornament or protection 

 oftentimes attract birds. The summer-house 

 or open building on the lawn or in the orchard 

 is generally selected by the robin for a nest- 

 ing-place. So the shrubbery and climbing 

 vines around the house should be at the- ser- 

 vice of the chipping sparrow and warblers. 

 The orchard, of course, we expect to have its 

 full share of nests, and the elm, or weeping 

 willow, or the old pear tree, to have one of its 

 drooping limbs graced with an oriole's ham- 

 mock. A row of boxes should be put up 

 against the south or east side of the house for 

 the martins; shelvings under the forebay for 

 the swallow, and an opening iu the upper i)art 

 of the barn for them to pass in a'nd out freely, 

 should they fancy that part of tbe building. 

 Such chimneys as are not used in the summer 

 should be left uncovered for the chimney 

 swallows. Boxes should be put up against 

 the outbuildings, and on the sheltered side of 

 trees, for the blue-bird and wren; so that the 

 whims of tliese our good fairies may be prop- 

 erly humored. 



When these accommodations are provided 

 and the birds happily do come to occupy 

 them, or some of them, do not interfere with 



their housekeeping nor sufler anyone else to 

 molest them, whether it be thoughtless man 

 or sneaking cat. Do not approach their nests 

 unnecessarily nor allow anyone else to do so ; 

 remember tliis is a tender point with all birds, 

 and will cause tliem to change residence very 

 soon. Do not allow the English sparrow to 

 take possession of the boxes and drive the 

 others out. 



One more suggestion and I am done. If 

 th^re is no running water on your farm or in 

 the vicinity, provide a place for the birds to 

 drink, and where they can get soft material 

 to build nests. Swallows and martins Iqve to 

 skim near the surface of the water and take 

 an occasional dip. Robins and cat-birds will 

 help themselves at the water trough in the 

 barn-yard, but the more shy birds, like the 

 brown thrush, will not venture that far. 

 Water should be kept for their use in a more 

 secluded place. 



A clieap bird fountain can be made with an 

 old demijohn or carboy, which can be had at 

 a drug or liquor store for a trifle. 



Select a suitable shady spot frequented by 

 the birds and where they will not be disturb- 

 ed. Place a trough or other shallow vessel on 

 the gronud; drive stakes for the demijohn to 

 rest upon in an inverted position so thatit s 

 mouth will nearly touch the bottom of the 

 trough and hold it in that ,'position, tnen fill 

 the demijohn and turn it upside down upon 

 the stakes. Tlie water will run out and keep 

 the trough partly filled until the supply in the 

 demijohn is all used; on the some principle as 

 a small bird fountain. 



We had a fountain made in this manner 

 with a five gallon demijohn, which answered 

 the purpose admirably, and required refilling 

 about once a week. Tlie depth of the water 

 can be regulated by raising or lowering the 

 mouth of the demijohn. 



And now with your " winged friends'' 

 properly carea for, yourselves cheered and 

 comforted by their presence and gratefui 

 song, your orchards saved from the ravages of 

 insects and their golden fruit safely stored 

 away for winter use, you may live as content- 

 ed and happy as it is possible for mortals to 

 be. 



SEEDLING FRUITS.» 



_This question may be answered in a general 

 way In a few woids, viz.: Sow seeds and raise 

 plants, shrubs, vines and trees. And further, 

 does not nature attend to this matter without 

 the aid of man ? Are not a large proportion 

 if not the largest, of the most valuable fruits 

 accidental seedlings. 



I will not for a moment dispute the said 

 assertion, but at the same time I hold tha 

 many valuable varieties of fruits are the re- 

 sult of seeds planted by the hand of man, for 

 which he has received no credit. 



Many trees have been planted throughout 

 our country since its settlement, by mission- 

 aries, travelers and others, the result of which 

 we can form no accurate estimate. 



Within the last quarter of a century, how- 

 ever, many new fruits have been produced by 

 more intelligent methods, viz. : by hybridiza- 

 tion and by cress fertilization by design, which 



*Essay read before the Pennsylvania State Ilorticul 

 tural Association at Harrisburg, by Henry M. Engle, o 



i 



Have produced the most gratifying results, we 

 must be surprised at the result. 



With the grape greater success has been 

 attained than vpith any other kind of fruit. 

 Of the value of grapes produced by design it 

 is now impossi'de to estimate, when we 

 compare the time when the Isabella and Ca- 

 tawba were the only popular grapes, with the 

 present day, when scores of improved and 

 superior varieties are being disseminated 

 through the length and breadth of the land. 



Tlianks to Messrs. Rogers, Ricketts, Wiley 

 and others for the choice we may now make 

 in our selection for planting ; and from pre- 

 sent indications we are just on the threshold 

 of what we may expect, and, unless the fu- 

 ture shall belie the past, this country will, in 

 the near future, be enabled to claim as great 

 a variety of fine native grapes as any other. 



The number of new and improved varieties 

 of strawberries, raspben-ies, blackberries, 

 cherries, pears and otlier fruits have of late 

 years been multiplied to such an extent as to 

 almost confuse the planter with limited room 

 or means. This, however, should not deter 

 any from raising new seedling fruits, as time 

 and testing will eventually decide so as to 

 lead to the "survival of the fittest." The 

 venerable President of the American Pomo- 

 logical Society has in almost every annual 

 address urged the production of new fruits 

 by hybridization and cross fertilization, and 

 is in his advanced years lending a helping 

 hand in this laudable aause. 



Tne only serious drawback in the multipli- 

 cation of new fruits is the disposition to make 

 too great a speculation of new things, and too 

 many make extravagant claims for their pet 

 [iroducts and cling tenaciously to those claims 

 whether worthy or not, simply because it is 

 their own production. May this, as well as 

 other horticultural and pomological societies, 

 be slow to recommend any new fruit or vege- 

 table for general cultivation unless thoroughly 

 and extensively tested ; no new fruit slioald 

 be added to our catalogues unless it has special 

 merit not possessed by any already on the list. 

 But to the question. Prior to the forma- 

 tion of the flower and period of inflorescence, 

 nature seems to work in the dai'k, but during 

 and from this time until the fruit is perfected, 

 her operations are intensely interesting to the 

 close observer. Let us follow her progress in 

 the development of the bud, the expansion of 

 the corolla, the spreading of the petals, ex- 

 hibiting the stamens and pistils — a perfect 

 flower in all its beauty and fragrance. The 

 most important parts, however, are the repro- 

 ductive organs — the stamens and pistils ; the 

 former are termed male and the latter 

 female organs. When the anther of the 

 stamen is ripe it casts off its pollen in very 

 minute particles which falls upon the stigma 

 of the pistil, which when in a condition to 

 receive" the pollen is of a glutinous nature, to 

 which the same adheres ; thence it passes 

 down through the style of the pistil into the 

 ovary, when the fertilization is complete. 



Some plants, shrubs and trees have flowers 

 purely staminate and others purely pistillate 

 on the same plant or tree, while others have 

 staminate flowers on one plant or tree and 

 pistillate on the other. The latter are termed 

 diu;cious, the former monoecious ; but what- 

 soever the nature of the plant may be, unless 



