10 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[January, 



Rochester. It would certainly seem to pos- 

 sess all desirable qualities. It is very prolific, 

 firm of texture, and of fine flavor. 



Geo. S. Wales, the Bannockburn nursery- 

 man, said he had seen nothing equal to the 

 "James Vick." 



Secretary P. C. Reynolds, of Rochester, N. 

 Y., considers the quality of "James Vick" very 

 good, and well suited to his taste, which I 

 will add, is exceedingly critical. With pos- 

 sibly one exception he has not seen anything 

 to equsvl it in productiveness. He considers 

 it more productive, larger and of better qual- 

 ity than the Manchester. 



The roots indicate great vigor, the largest 

 we have seen on any variety. Mr. Peter B. 

 Mead remarked that they were something 

 unusual. We sent fruit of the "James 

 Vick " to Mr J. T. Lovett, over 300 miles 

 distant, and he reports that it came in fine 

 condition. As a shipping variety it is par- 

 ticularly desirable. 



Marshall P. Wilder writes : " You will be 

 pleased to learn that Mr. Benj. G. Smith, of 

 Cambridge, has sueceeded famously with the 

 James Vick." Mr. Wilder sent an order for 

 the " James Vick " by telegraph. 



Mr. Peter B. -Mead says he has seen enough 

 of the " James Vick," from spring set plants 

 to warrant placing it among the very promis- 

 ing varieties, and that it endures drouth 

 remarkably well. 



Vick^s Maijazine says : " Its merits as a 

 prolific and profitable strawberry are now 

 pretty well established. 



The Points of Merit 

 of the " James Vick " are briefly : 



(1) Fine quality, unusual vigor, and her- 

 maphrodite (or perfect) blossoms. 



(2) Color, form and firmness of berry, 

 which approach the ideal. No white tips, no 

 coxcombs. 



(.3) Ability to stand on the vines a week 

 after ripening, without becoming soft, or rot- 

 ting, or losing quality or much lustre. In- 

 stead of softening it shrinks a trifle, and 

 becomes firmer than when first ripe. 



(4) Uniformly large size, and productive- 

 ness unequalled by any other variety. Two 

 hundred and eighty berries were counted on 

 one average plant, and from one row about 

 100 feet long nearly two bu.shels of berries 

 were gathered. 



The prices for the "James Vick" are 

 42.00 per dozen, *10 per 100. 



For sale by Samuel Miller, Bluffton, Mo. 



THE BEST SEASON FOR CUTTING 

 WOOD. 



Farmers are usually too busy to cut wood 

 when it is in the best state to season well. 

 When the cold weather comes and the ground 

 is covered with snow, most of the out-door 

 work on the farm is over, excepting that of 

 cutting wood ; so it is during the winter sea- 

 son that the principal portion of the wood is 

 cut, but unfortunately this is not the best 

 season. One cord of wood cut in September, 

 is worth one quarter more than a cord cut in 

 September, is worth one quarter more than a 

 cord cut in March. If cut in September, it 

 is comparatively free from sap, and will dry 

 much quicker and at the same time dry 

 harder. 



They grey birch, if cut early in September, 

 will dry hard and keep well through the next 

 summer, while if it be cut in March, it will 

 not dry unless sawed in short pieces and split. 

 If left four feet long in the woods over sum- 

 mer, it becomes comparatively worthless. 

 Even maple and oak, is of much less value 

 when cut after the first of January, and be- 

 fore the first of May ; it does not dry as quick, 

 nor as hard as if cut early in autumn. 



Pine wood cut betvveen the first of .January 

 and the first of May, is not only not as good 

 for firewood, but is sure to be badly eaten by 

 worms if left in the woods over summer, 

 while if cut early in the autumn, it dries 

 harder and is rarely injured much by 

 worms. 



Another advantage of cutting wood early in 

 the autumn, if the land is to be kept in wood 

 is, the stumps sprout better, and tlie growth 

 is larger than if cut late in the winter. When 

 it is desired to clear up the land, it is best to 

 cut the wood in the spring, then the stumps 

 are full of sap which flows from them, in 

 large quantities, thus keeping the stump wet 

 and causing it to decay in much less time, 

 than if cut when the roots are comparatively 

 free from sap, and if cut at this seafson, it is 

 much less trouble to keep the sprouts down ; 

 thus if the land is to be cleared, the gain in 

 keeping the sprouts down partially makes up 

 for the loss in the quality of the wood. 



When land is to be kept in wood, an effort 

 should be made to cut the wood before the 

 first of January, and it would bi3 better to cut 

 it in October. — MassacItuseUs Plowman. 



EARLY TOMATO PLANTS. 



Those who desire only a few plants without 

 wishing to incur the expense and labor of 

 preparing a hotbed, should select boxes for 

 the purpose, into which place good light loam 

 or wood mould. Sow the seeds in March, 

 and when they are six inches high either thin 

 them out or transplant them to other boxes, 

 in order to get room. It is not generally 

 known, however, that tomatoes will some- 

 times grow from cuttings, and that a large- 

 sized plant will produce several smaller ones. 

 They will grow well from cutting when once 

 rooted, but such a course is not safe in inex- 

 perienced hands. Probably the best way to 

 procure plants early is to save all the fruit 

 cans and cut ofl" their tops. Prepare the loam 

 that it to be placed in them by rendering it 

 very fine and light. Let it be rich, but if 

 manure is used it must be fine and well 

 settled. If the weather is extremely cold 

 some flesh manure may be placed near the 

 bottom for the purpose of generating heat, 

 but care must be taken not to use too much. 

 Place the cans on a .shelf near a window 

 which faces the South, and have as a covering 

 for each a large paper bag, which should be 

 used at nisht. Now plant about one-half of 

 an inch deep a dozen tomato seeds, gently 

 pressing the earth on the seeds. Moisten 

 them every morning with tepid water, hut do 

 not saturate the earth. As soon as the plants 

 are an inch in height draw out very gently all 

 but the largest, which leaves a single plant 

 to each can. Having the entire can to itself 

 the plant will have room to grow, and will 

 push forward rapidly. If it begins to shoot 



up faster than desired pinch off the growing 

 tip. This forces the plant to extend itself by 

 way of its branches and laterals instead of 

 growing tall and slender. It will become 

 stout, strong, well rooted and vigorous, and 

 when afterward placed in the open ground 

 will be almost ready to do its duty of produc- 

 tion. If the season is late and the plants 

 very large the want of space in the can may 

 prompt the growers to transplant them before 

 the danger of frost is over, but the lack of 

 nourishment in the can may be supplied in 

 this manner. To every quart of water add a 

 tablespoonful of saltpetre, a teaspoonful of 

 saleratus (be sure and get the right article), 

 and a good heaping teaspoonful of snper- 

 phosphate. Water the plants in the evening 

 with this by pouring it around the roots (not 

 too liberally), but not on the plants. After 

 transplanting this fertilizing may be contin- 

 ued, as it will cause them to push ahead 

 rapidly. 



The above gives an essay and simple 

 method of getting early plants for a small 

 garden, and opens a way for utilizing old 

 fruit cans. Now, a word about the plants 

 after they are in the ground. When the 

 season is dry water them occasionally very 

 profusely, but not by pouring the water 

 around them, but by first removing the top 

 earth a little, putting in the water, and plac- 

 ing back the dry earth. This prevents scald- 

 ing from the hot sun and avoids baking. Do 

 not work them deeply, but keep the surfixce 

 clean. The best fertilizer for tomatoes is 

 well-rooted manure, but a spoonful of guano 

 and a small quantity of superphosphate from 

 time to' time, dissolved in water, if preferred 

 to the above, are valuable assistants. On 

 light soils the potash salts should be used 

 more than where the ground is heavy. Al- 

 ways keep the plants well pinched back and 

 carefully tied to stakes. 



Of the varieties the Acme is very popular, 

 but more subject to rot than the others. The 

 Conqueror is the earliest, but small. The 

 Hathaway Excelsior is superb. It may not 

 be as large as some others, but it is solid 

 smooth, free from disease, hardly and of a 

 beautiful color, ripening down to tlie stem. 

 The General Grant and Paragon are also 

 good varieties, the former a very good keeper. 

 They must be watched for the worm, as a sin- 

 gle day or night is sutlicient for a worm to se- 

 riously injure a viue. This worm and the to- 

 bacco worm are identical. On sandy soils a 

 mulch will be very serviceable. Always let 

 the tomatoes ripen on the vines, instead of 

 pulling them partially green. The tomato is 

 very productive, and, like the orange, it blos- 

 soms while the fruit is ripening, continuing 

 to bear right along until frost. The vines 

 also are able to repair damage from loss of 

 limbs, etc. 



The Duke of Argyle is enjoying his bridal 

 trip with his young wife on board his steam 

 yacht, in company also with his son, who has 

 recently married Victoria Woodhull's 

 daughter. 



A PEAR tree that has born fruit for two 

 hundred years is still standing in Everett, 

 Mass., on the Swiss farm. 



