78 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[ May, 



Agriculture. 



French Farming 

 Every square foot of fi-round is put to use, lias 

 been in use lor unnumbered e-enerations. Here and 

 tliere in the distance ajipear patciiee of wood, care- 

 fully preserved and guarded, but the rest of the 

 land is almost bare of shade. There is no brush or 

 tanirle of weed and wild flower bv the roadside, no 

 thicket by the stream. The last of these trespassers 

 were eradicated ages ago, alone with the last stump. 

 A K'ray stone wall bordl'rs the hiirhway. The cross- 

 roads are often sunk two or three feet below the 

 general level. Narrow ridires of earth ir.ark the 

 boundaries of the fields, and the furrows are driven 

 so close to them that it is a wonder how the plough 

 is turned. Single rows of poplars stretch with e^-- 

 asperating regularity across the landscape. They 

 are trimmed close, and sometimes every twig is re- 

 moved except a bunch at the extreme top, then they 

 look like liheity poles with bushes tied to them. 

 There are willows by the brook, but they are pollard- 

 willows, kept for their twigs whieh are scrupulously 

 cut ofl', and they lift their seaered and knotted trunks 

 like hands from which all the fingers have baen 

 amoutated. 



Sand Farming. 

 What is sand? Writers differ so much in thefr 

 ideas of soils that it is puzzling often to define their 

 meaning. Pure sand mafeesa poor soil, or no.soil at 

 all, on svhich to attempt to grow any kind of crop. 

 Our common, sandy soil contains more or less clay, 

 and this it is which gives them their capacitj- for be- 

 ing improved or made productive. The sand farm- 

 ing referred to by Mr. Loomis is on sandy loam. Of 

 this soil there are grades : the lightest is a quick, 

 warm soil, and crops grown on such mature early, 

 while at the same time they partake of the nature 

 of the soil ; this gives to melons and similar products 

 their rich, delicate flavor. These light and heavy 

 sandy loam soils are the best of all our arable soils 

 in New England for any crop we produce. There 

 are considerable tracts where, a few years since, a 

 person could buy any quantity for three to ten dol 

 lars per acre, which, rightly handled, are very pro- 

 ductive of all kinds of crops ; but they need constant 

 manuring, to which they are very sensitive, showino- 

 its efi'ects, in the crops, quicker than heavier soils. 

 Some of these lands will now command a price from 

 ten to fifty times as high as twenty years since. 



Crop Prospects. 



Taking the most receilt returns from the great 

 wheat-growing States for the basis of an estimate, 

 we are justified in concluding that the wheat crop of 

 the present year will exceed in quantity anything 

 which the country has yet produced, the winter 

 wheat is at all points in the best condition, and a 

 largely increased acreage is reported. Spring wheat, 

 too, will be sowed over a much larger number of 

 acres than before, thus bringing to the market an 

 abundance which persons reputed to be not over- 

 sanguine on the subject estimate in the gross at Ave 

 hundred million bushels. It is almost too enormous 

 to be conceived by the mind. The decidedly good, or 

 bad, prospect of a war in Europe adds wonderfully 

 to the anticipated value of such a crop. 



But allowing that no such war occurs, and that 

 the production of Europe itself is as large as not to 

 compel an extradrdinary draft on this country, there 

 IB the cotton cropon which to rely for keeping foreign 

 exchange in our favor and thus retaining our gold at 

 home. There is already a large remaining surplus 

 for foreign spinners from last year's crop, but there 

 will be a demand for all that we shall ordinarily have 

 to sell. But the calculation is, in any event,. a<;cord- 

 ing to the experience of past years, that the cotton 

 crop of the coming season will be the largest ever 

 yet produced, owing to the prolonged overflow of the 

 richest cotton producing region of the country. So 

 that, as a nation, we have everything to encourage 

 and very little to cloud our hopes for the immediate 

 future. 



Fence Posts. 



An experimental writeron this subject very ration- 

 ally remarks : 



" To have a fence that will last we must have 

 good posts, for that is the part that gives out first bv 

 rotting off at the surface of the soil. Then the fence 

 has to come down, new posts set, and the boards re- 

 placed. Sixteen years ago I experimented with 

 fences, and find seasoned oak posts oiled and then 

 tarred with boiling coal tar makes them last the 

 longest. I took green posts that were sawed five 

 inches square at one end and two by five inches at 

 the other, and seven feet long. I tarred half as many 

 as would build my fence, and the other half I put 

 in the ground green with nothing done to them. In 

 five years after the tarred posts were nothing but a 

 shell under the ground, all the inside being decayed. 

 Some of the other posts were rotted off, and some 

 were about half rotten. 



" Two years after I built another fence with sea- 

 soned oak posts, same size as the first, giving them 



all a good coat of oil, and in a few days after tarred 

 them as I did before with coal tar, heated in a can 

 made for the purpose, four feet deep and large 

 enough to hold four posts set on end ; left them in 

 the boiling tar about ten minutes, then took them 

 out and sanded them. And now, after fourteen 

 years, not one in ten need replacing. I shall never 

 build a fence for myself requiring posts without first 

 thoroughly seasoning, then oiling and then tarring 

 them. If they are tarred when green the tar does 

 not penetrate the wood, and in a short time will all 

 scale off. When the wood is seasoned the oil pene- 

 trates the wood, and the coating of coal tar keeps 

 out the moisture, thereby preserving the wood from 

 decay." 



Hort:cl -ture. 



Apples for Medicine. 



Apples, in addition to being a delicious fruit, 

 make a pleasant medicine. A raw, mellow apple is 

 digested in an hour and a half, while boiled cabbage 

 requires five hours. The most healthy desert that 

 can be placed on the table is a baked apple. If eaten 

 frequently at i.reakfast, wi:h coarse bread and butter, 

 without meat or flesh of any kind, it has an admira- 

 ble effect on the general system, often removing 

 constipation, correcting acidities, and cooling off fe- 

 brile conditions more effectually than the most im- 

 proved medicines. If families could be induced to 

 substitute apples, ripe and sound, for pies, cakes and 

 sweetmeats, with which their children are frequent- 

 ly stuffed, there would be a diminution in the total 

 sum of doctor's bills in a single year sufficient to lay 

 in a stock of this delicious fruit for the whole sea- 

 son's use. 



Greenhouse and Window Plants. 

 The increasing sun will bring many plants into 

 flower, and at the same time encourage the insect. 

 Free use of tobacco smoke or tobacco water, where 

 it is convenient to use smoke, will destroy many. A 

 small collection of plants, tended by one really fond 

 of them, may be kept free of insects by mere "thumb 

 and finger work." Daily examination, the use of a 

 stifflsh brush, like an old tooth-brush, and a pointed 

 stick to pick off mealy bugs and scale, will keep in- 

 sects from doing harm. Neglect to examine in time, 

 and nip the trouble in the bud, is the cause of much 

 of the difficulty. More water will be needed by plants 

 in bloom and making their growth. Bulbsj if any 

 remain in the cellar, may be brought to the heat anil 

 light. When the flowers fade on the earlier ones, 

 cut away the stalk and let the leaves grow on ; when 

 they begin to fade dry oflf the bulbs, which may be 

 planted in the garden afterwards. 



Profit in Onions. 



More money can be realized from a given amount 

 of land in onions, taken one season with another, 

 than from any other crop that can be raised. A 

 large amount of hand labor is required, however, to 

 produce the crop, which must be put in very early. 

 The labor of old persons and children can be utilized 

 to good advantage in raising onions, as most of the 

 work required is light. Thebest land for onions is 

 black muck containing a good deal of loam. The 

 manure should be the most thoroughly rotted part 

 from the farmyard. Too much manure cannot be 

 used. It should be well mixed with the soil, say by 

 spreading, turning under and cross harrowing. This 

 should be done in the fall to secure the best results. 

 In the spring the ground should be cultivated and 

 harrowed till it is fine as it can be made. Then the 

 onion seed should be drilled in rows fourteen inches 

 apart. It will take four or five pounds of seed to the 

 acre. As good varieties as any are yellow Danvers, 

 red Wethersfield, and silver skin. The latter are 

 not good keepers, but sell well. As soon as the 

 young onions appear they should be hoed or culti- 

 vated. The great secret in growing onions is to keep 

 them free from weeds. Therefore, hoe and cultivate 

 frequently though no weeds may at that moment be 

 above the surface. When the onions are ripe they 

 should be pulled and left on the ground till the tops 

 are dry ; then they are gathered up and bagged for 

 market. 



Celery Culture. 



The demand for celery increases every year. Late- 

 ly the demand has been greater than the supply in all 

 parts of the country. The past season was a most 

 unfavorable one for this crop. The spring was cold 

 and wet, and the summer hot and dry. The leaves 

 were generally small and were often ill-shapen. The 

 culture of this plant has been greatly simplified dur- 

 ing the past few years. The system of planting in 

 trenches has been abandoned by nearly all market 

 gai-deners. This effects a great saving of labor The 

 plan of starting the plants in hot-beds has also been 

 given up by most persons. The seed is sown in well 

 prepared beds in the open ground, but great care is 

 taken to prepare the soil for thegrowthof the tender 

 young plants, Some burn the soil as they do when 

 preparing the seed beds for tubacco, so as to have bo 



trouble with weeds. The seed is sown in rows about 

 eight or ten inches apart, and the soil between them 

 frequently stirred to hasten the growth of the plants 

 to prevent the springing up of "weeds. The young 

 plants are rendered stocky by shearing off the tops 

 two or three times before they are put in the rows 

 where they are to mature. In June and July they 

 are placed in rows three feet apart and six inches in 

 the row. As soon as they become established, the 

 soil is kept well supplied with water. Unless there 

 ar.; seasonable rains, water is supplied by means of 

 pipes or rubber hose. Some have located celery 

 plantations on the banks of streams or the side of 

 lakes, so that water may be easly supplied. Garden, 

 ers have been slow in flnding out that celery is by 

 natuie an aquatic plant, and they are now treating it 

 to all the water it wants. 



How the Chinese Make Dwarf Trees. 



We have all known from childhood how the Chi- 

 nese cramp their women's fet, and so manage to 

 make them keepers at home ; but how they contrive 

 to grow miniature pines and oaks in flower-pots for 

 half a century has always been much of a secret. 

 They aim first and last at the seat of vigorous 

 growth, endeavoring to weaken it as much as may 

 be consistent with the preservation of life. Take a 

 young plant— say a seedling or cutting of a cedar— 

 when only two or three inches high, cut off its tap- 

 root as soon as it has other rootlets enough to live 

 upon, and replant it in a shallow earthen pot or pan 

 The end of the tap-root is generally made to rest on 

 a stone within it. Alluvial clay is then put into the 

 pot, much of it in bits the size of beans, and just 

 enough in kind and quantity to furnish a scanty 

 nourishment to the plant. Water enough is given 

 to keep it in growth, but not enough to excite a vig- 

 orous habit. So likewise is the application of light 

 and heat. As the Chinese pride themselves on the 

 shape of their miniature trees, they use strings, 

 wires and pegs, and various other mechanical con- 

 trivances to promote symmetry of habit or to fashion 

 their pets into odd fancy figures. Thus, by the use 

 of very shallow pots, the growth of the tap-root is 

 out of the question ; by the use of poor soil and lit- 

 tle of it, and little water, any strong growth is pre- 

 vented. Then, too, the top and side roots being 

 within easy reach of the gardener, are shortened by 

 his pruning knife or seared with his hot iron. S» 

 the little tree, flnding itself headed on every side, 

 gives up the idea of strong growth, asking only for 

 fife, and just life enough to look well. Accordingly 

 each new set of leaves become more and more 

 stunted, the buds and rootlets are diminished in 

 proportion, and at length a balance is established 

 between every part of the tree, making it a dwarf in 

 all respects. In some kinds of trees this end is 

 reached in three or four years; in others ten or fif- 

 teen years are necessary. Such is fancy horticul- 

 ture among the Celestials. 



Household Recipes. 



T.iPiocA Pudding.— Take one and one-half cups 

 of tapioca and soak over night ; three eggs beaten 

 thoroughly, and reserving the white of one 

 for frosting ; one cup of white sugar ; one teaspoon- 

 ful of butter ; one and one-half pints of milk ; a 

 little salt and nutmeg. Bake until well done. Frost 

 same as directed for lemon pie, and retuca to oven 

 until brown. 



BRE.iD Pudding. — Take one pint of bread 

 crumbs soaked in one quart of sweet milk ; one- 

 half cup of white sugar ; two eggs, beaten thor- 

 oughly ; one cup of raisins if desired ; heaping tea- 

 spoonful of butter, and salt to suit the taste ; stir 

 well together and bake. 



Chili Sauce. — Forty-eight ripe tomatoes, ten pep- 

 pers, two large onions, two quarts vinegar, four 

 tablespoons salt, two teaspoons each of cloves, cinna- 

 mon, nutmeg and allspice; one cup sugar. Slice the 

 tomatoes, chop peppers and onions together; add 

 vinegar and spices, and boil until thick enough. 

 Mustard and curry powder improves this. 



Ci^AM Chowdeb.— Put in a pot a layer of sliced 

 pork, chopped potatoes, chopped clams, salt, pepper 

 and lumps of butter, and broken crackers soaked in 

 milk, cover with the clam juice and water, stew 

 slowly for three hours, thicken with a little flour, it 

 may be seasoned with spices if prefer.-ed. 



Saddle of Lamb. — Time, a quarter of an hour to 

 the pound; one hour and a half totwo hours. Cover 

 the joint with buttered paper to prevent the fat 

 catching, and roast it at a brisk fire, constantly 

 basting it, at first with a very little butter, then with 

 its own dripping. Mint-sauce. 



Tomato Soup. — Three pounds of beef, one quart 

 canned tomatoes, one gallon water. Let the meat 

 and water boil for two hours, or until the liquid is 

 reduced to a little more than two quarts. Then stir 

 in the tomatoes, and stew all slowly for three quar- 

 ters of an hour longer. Season to taste, strain and 

 serve. 



Otstek Soup. — Take one quart of water, one tea- 

 cup of butter, one pint of milk, two teaspoonfuls of 



