1882.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



75 



and taken in its dormant state, after the trees 

 have shed their leaves in autnmn. I have 

 found February and March favorable to suc- 

 cess. Any time before tlie buds start in the 

 spring may succeed. A few grew one year 

 taken in May. The sprouts often growing on 

 the part of roots near the surface, suggested 

 rodf '•u(h'(i(/s as an additional means of multi- 

 plying trees. Any large root cut off near the 

 collar of the tree is almost sure to devclope 

 buds of seed and send up sprouts. The best 

 time to make root cuttings is just before the. 

 usual season for tlie buds of the tree to swell 

 in the spring. 



Propaijation by graftinrj on the stocks and 

 roots of other trees as well as its own, is a 

 successful metliod of quince culture. The 

 thorn and apple have been used for the quince, 

 as that has been for the pear; and here all the 

 different methods of grafting are available. 

 The thorn is much valued by some on account 

 of its strength, and freedom from borers. 

 Roots of apple trees, as well as other quince 

 trees, are available. Trees worked on apple 

 roots were exhibited at the late meeting of the 

 New Jersey Horticultural Society iu Viueland. 

 The scions of a fruitful tree grafted into one 

 that was barren have borne the second year. 

 Crafting on older stocks in this way will ena- 

 ble us to test new varieties; and also to gain 

 time in proving the value or worthlessness of 

 all our seedlings. It is also a convenient way 

 of comparing the relative merits of different 

 varieties, by securing the perfect equality of 

 all conditions. 



A good grafting wax, to be applied warm, 

 is made by melting together six parts rosin, 

 with one part each of bees-wax and tallow or 

 linseed. It can be applied with a brush, or 

 spread on strips of muslin for wrappings. For 

 a wax to be applied by hand, cold. Downing 

 recommends bees-wax and rosiu each three 

 parts, to two parts of tallow. 



Scions for grafting are best if cut after the 

 leaves have fallen and before the stimulation 

 of the spring. They can be wintered in sand 

 or sawdust. If not cut till spring they may 

 as well be set at once. By the aid of an ice- 

 house the season of setting them can be 

 greatly extended. Vigorous stocks often 

 produce a profusion of sprouts. It may be 

 best to leave some of these to direct the circu- 

 lation of the sapand thus secure a supply to 

 the scion, but all should at length be removed 

 leaving the graft to enjoy every advantage. 



Prnpaijation hij huddinij, or inoculating, is a 

 favorable method for some trees, as the peach 

 and apricot ; but is only recommended for the 

 quince where grafts have missed, or where we 

 want to increase the sorts for which the other 

 methods are not available. It differs from 

 grafting mainly in being confined to the sea- 

 sou when the cell circulation is most active, 

 and the union of parts much quicker than 

 with grafts. Budding is most successfully 

 performed in that part of the growing season 

 when the cambium or gelatinous matter be- 

 tween the bark and wood is in greatest activity 

 organizing new cells. The "pulp," as gard- 

 ners call this cambium, must be present be- 

 tween the bark and wood of the stock, >so that 

 the bark can be easily separated for the 

 insertion of the bud. It buds of the previous 

 year are to be worked, the scions should be 

 kept dormant till the young leaves of spring 



indicate that the bark will slip. If buds of 

 the current year are u.sed they should be well 

 developed ; and this perfection may be ac- 

 celerated by cutting off the tips of the shoots 

 from which they are to be taken. As soon as 

 the scion is separated from the tree the blade 

 of every leaf should be removed, so that its 

 evaporalion may i;iot injure the vitality of the 

 bud. If dormant buds' have been used in 

 spring the stocks should Ibe cut away above 

 them as soon as they begin to swell, and the 

 shoots from the stock below rubbed oil. If 

 buds of the current year have been successful, 

 then the removal of the stocks should be de- 

 ferred to the next spring. With a vigorous 

 stock, a bud, like a graft, should make a 

 handsome tree the first season.— TAc Weekly 

 Press. 



POULTRY FARMING. 



The cost of adequate fencing still' strikes 

 me as one of the main diflicuities of the poult- 

 ry business. The easiest put-up fence is wire 

 netting fixed to [losts or stakes at proper inter- 

 vals, and, all things considered, it is,|perhaps, 

 as cheap as any unless exception be made in 

 favor of tarred twine netting, but that is not 

 so durable. Employing 2j inch meshed wire 

 netting, size eighteen for the bottom width, 

 and 3| inch mesh and number nineteen guage 

 for the top width, a yard wide and buying in 

 quantities, the cost of netting, six feet high, 

 with a wire to run through and stiflen the top, 

 will be about fifteen to eighteen cents per 

 linear yard without the stakes and building. 

 After allowing for this, it will bring the cost 

 of each run, allowing one side for each plot, 

 to $.5, and the fencing in the hedges for the 

 permanent lines will cost an additional $3 for 

 each plot. 



But in my opinion the netting alone will not 

 best answer the purpose. There would be 

 some fighting through it; it affords no shelter; 

 and bad habits would be communicated. 

 Birds kept as they must be kept in such yards 

 are observant and ready to adopt vices very 

 quickly. If the hens in one yard take to egg- 

 eating or feather plucking, the vice will be 

 learned by hens in adjoining yards when there 

 is no obstruction to sight. To separate differ- 

 ent flocks from sight of each other, even par- 

 tially, is of some importance, and this entails 

 increased expense. Stakes or posts of suf- 

 ficient size and height may be set in the 

 ground at proper intervals and then nine-inch 

 thin boards attached for 'the bottom of the 

 fence, and a width of netting stretched on 

 top will make a fence that will overcome all 

 the difficulty, but it increases the expense to 

 double, or nearly double that of the netting 

 alone. But it is a great deal better fence for 

 the partition. It is to be made in sections so 

 as to be easily removed from one side of tlie 

 house to the other, as needed. We must 

 therefore incur an expense of SI 3 for the 

 fencing of each yard, or at the rate of fifty 

 cents a head. This will cover the whole ex- 

 pense for fencing, if a man falls in with a 

 streak of more than ordinary good luck. But 

 it would perhaps be safer to make estimates on 

 $15 per fenced plot, and the whole fencing and 

 building per acre will reach a cost of at least 

 S7.5. 



It will be objected that the expense and 

 time requured are too great before the farm 



could be i)ut into successful operation, but 

 lapse of time in arrangements and investment 

 of capital is a part of all successful business. 

 I cannot see why people should demand a 

 .system of poultry farming that is capable of 

 siiringing into existence all at once. Ko other 

 kind of farming or of fencing ever did spring 

 into existence in that way. The ordinary 

 farmer finds to his hand buildings and fences 

 and arrangements which have been the growth 

 of years, I might almost .say of centuries. It 

 is unreasonable to expect that land is to be 

 made equally adapted for an entirely new pur- 

 suit without time and expense and labor, and 

 if I point out, therefore, the kind of fence."* 

 and other arrangements adapted to the end 

 in view it is no kind of answer to say these 

 things take too much time and money. 

 These are only some of the diflriculties of the 

 undertaking, and are a very good rea.son why 

 no one should embark lightly in such an 

 enteriirise, but go gradually to work, feeling 

 his waj- as he goes. 



Thus the planning and the fencing of a 

 poultry farm ab.iorbs relatively the largest 

 amount of cai>ital. If any man can present a 

 system that will work permanently without 

 this preliminary labor and investment of capi- 

 tal he will have a large audience ready to hear 

 him. My own experience of fowls is against 

 all and any seductive theories of cheapest in- 

 stantaneous arrangements in poultry farming, 

 and I believe any one who tries to force suc- 

 cess on that basis will come to grief. Granite 

 can be boiled as easily as water if you will 

 take the necessary stejis in oiganizing your 

 boiler— but not otherwise.— i>r. A. M. Dickie, 

 Doylestown, Pa. 



^^ 



POULTRY ABUNDANT, BUT DEAR. 



Since the year 1, or the days of Peter, the 

 raising of poultry has been a certain guage of 

 civilization. The wild Indian keeps no fowls; 

 but, as man advances from the savage state 

 he gathers the feathered tribe around him, 

 becau.se they make .some of the richest delica- 

 cies of his table, as well as the softest down 

 for his couch. Although poultry is raised in 

 large quantities in this region, it is very dear. 

 In price in stands alongside of beef, mutton 

 and pork, all of which are about double 

 Americiui prices. A pair of chickens costs 

 about $2, and they are not very large at that. 

 Of course the common day-laborer earning 

 not more than thirty sous per day, cannot 

 often indulge in such luxury, or the mechanic 

 either, who earns but five francs a day. Hut 

 as poultry is always abundant in market, 

 somebody eats a great deal of it. Of the 

 various kinds, chickens are kept in the great- 

 est numbers. Like the farm slock they are a 

 great deal mixed ; but mostly dark-colored or 

 black. The Black Spanish are the most com- 

 mon, and like cats an<l dogs, are kept more or 

 less all over the city, hence you may hear the 

 crow of (.."lianliclecr in almost any direction in 

 the morning, but it is not loud like his 

 Shagghai relations in America. It is almost 

 as different as the little car whistle here and the 

 big one at home. Chickens are outlawed in 

 town and country — they must keep in bounds, 

 or their heads will come oil before their lime. 

 In the couuti-.y — there is plenty of good pas- 

 ture for them so that they cannot help but 

 thrive ; as wc have before remarked, every 



