110 



•THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 



two more good rains the last week in June and early 

 iu July will greatly increase the yield. As to the 

 acreage, thanks to the common sense of Texas far- 

 mers, it is a full average. We are all perfectly 

 happy when there is plenty of corn around. Texas 

 •has not bought any in four years. Texas is there- 

 fore, prosperous, aud Texas will continue to prosper 

 until she finds her corn-crib empty. A crib of corn 

 is worth more than its size iu bales of cotton. Re 

 ligiou cannot be found in a farm-house without corn. 

 Tou can generally trace a man's church troubles to 

 his failure to plant a good, healthy crop of it. He 

 will raise too much cotton, sell and finding himself 

 without enough money to go around, he will get 

 drunk, go to swearing, fighting his neighbors and 

 wife, and receive a summons to appear before the 

 church deacons and elders. 



Wheat and oats have generally been harvested. 

 The only objection to our wheat crop is, there is not 

 enough of it. That planted turned out all right. 

 That we did not plant we are getting in stores at the 

 rate of two dollars per llour sack. But the situation 

 is encouraging. In another year or two our farmers 

 will learu to supply Texas with all it consumes. The 

 crops last year and this conclusively prove North 

 Texas to be a splendid wheat-growing region. 



We will have to " take .in a good deal of soil" on 

 the fruit crop. The heavy winds of April and May 

 were very destructive upon it, knocking it upon the 

 ground. It escaped the frost to be ruined by wind. 

 What there is left is fine. We have little for export. 



Our gardens are still yielding enough general veg- 

 etables for all hands, the cook and her very numer- 

 ous family. — Dallas, Texas, Planter and Farmer. 



H0RT2CL TTJRE. 



Asparagus. 



Don't fail to plant a bed of the above. Delicious, 

 healthful and succulent in the spring; no kitchen 

 garden is complete without a good sized bed. 



To prepare a bed, dip the soil deep and incorporate 

 in it a heavy coat of rotten manure of well decom- 

 posed compost. Plant the roots in rows l'-^ feet 

 apart and one foot between the roots, about three or 

 four inches deep. Cover the bed in the autumn with 

 manure aud fork it in the spring. Salt or fish brine 

 can be used to advantage. 



Couover's Colossal is highly recommended for its 

 immense size, and being remarkably tender and high 

 flavored, is one of the best kinds. It can be cutoff 

 one year sooner than other varieties. 



Grape Culture. 

 The grape crop of the United States, although not 

 spoken of as a leading staple of agriculture, is really 

 becoming so to an extent that appears to be, as yet, 

 little understood or appreciated by the miscellaneous 

 public. Its real importance, however, was recently 

 shown by a remark made by a leading and influential 

 European connoisseur in wines, who had been travel- 

 ing through the grape-growing districts of the Unit- 

 ed States, to the effect that he was satisfied that our 

 American wines ought not to be rated as inferior to 

 the corresponding classes of foreign wines, and that 

 he believed that in the course of time their excellence 

 would be fully recognized and established all over 

 the world. Aside, however, from this judgment, the 

 culture of the grape as fruit for edible purposes has 

 made immense progress in the New England and 

 Middle States and in the West, and although as yet 

 we cannot say that these grapes are equal to the fine 

 imported articles from southern Europe, they are 

 certainly very much improved in quality and abund- 

 ance as compared with the grape used for the same 

 purpose in the same regions fifteen or twenty years 

 ago. The manufacture of wine from American 

 grapes has improved so much in the hands of the 

 German, French, Spanish and Italian capitalists who 

 have established themselves in this business in Amer- 

 ica, that since the grape disease began to prevail in 

 southern Europe large quantities of American wine 

 are used by foreign manufactures. — Oernumlown Tel- 

 egraph. 



Hot Water For Sickly Plants. 



A correspondent calls our attention to the fol- 

 lowing from the Garden, and inquires whether there 

 is anything in it : " The Florist asks, Has any one 

 tried hot water as a restorative for sickly plants, 

 and then proceeds to say that Mr. Willermez some 

 time since related that plants in pots may be restored 

 to health by means of hot water. Ill health he 

 maintains, ensues from acid substances in the soil, 

 whicli, being absorbed by the roots, act as poison. 

 The small roots wither and cease to act, and the 

 upper and younger shoots consequently turn yellow 

 or become spotted, indicative of their morbid state. 

 In such cases the usual remedy is to transplant into 

 fresh soil, in clean pots, with good drainage, and 

 this often with the best results. But his experience 

 of several years has proved the unfailing efficacy of 

 the simpler treatment, which cousists in watering 

 abundantly with hot water at a temperature of 

 about 145° Fahrrenheit, having previously stirred 

 the soil of the pots so far as may be done without 

 injury to the roots. Water is then given until it runs 

 freely from the pots. In his experiments the water 

 at first came out clear, afterward it was sensibly 

 tinged with brown and gave an appreciable acid re- 

 action. After this thorough washing the pots were 

 kept warm, and the plants very soon made new 

 roots, immediately followed by vigorous growth." 

 To our mind there is a great deal in it. We kuow to 

 a certainty that sickly peach trees are often restored 

 to vigorous health by the old-fashioned German 

 farmers of Pennsylvania by pouring boiling water 

 on the ground about the peach tree. It cools, of 

 course, semewhat before reaching many of the roots. 

 Here, however, it is believed to be beneficial by de- 

 stroying parasitic insects and parasitic fungi, rather 

 than chemically, as suggested by the extract ; but 

 let the reasoning be what it may, we are are willing 

 to endorse it as a good practice. — Gardeners' Monthly. 



^ 



About Trees. 



When a tree is taken up to replant, it should al- 

 ways be marked so as to replant as it first grew — the 

 north side to the north'. When planted in sandy or 

 light soil, a clay basin bottom should always be put 

 in first to hold the water, and then loam mixed with 

 clay should be used for filling, to cover the roots. 

 " Three-fifths of the nourishment of a tree comes 

 from the air," says a theorizer, which is a humbug. 

 Girdle the tree and see how long it will live. "How 

 that rain made the grass grow," is a very common 

 expression. But such is not the fact. It forms a 

 liquid solution of the fertilizing properties contained 

 in the earth fertilizer, and the little tender fibrous 

 roots take it up, and then up springs the beautiful 

 tender grass. Exhaust the soil of its entire fertili- 

 zing properties, and you would get no more grass. 

 The tree draws its nourishment from its fibrous roots 

 in the same way, and not from the air; aud if you 

 wish to keep your trees vigorous and healthy, remove 

 the soil occassionally six or eight inches deep around 

 the tree, and replace it with rich, fresh dark loam. 

 A tree requires a shower-bath from rain or other 

 wise, occaionally, as much as a man, to open its 

 pores; and, like a man, when it has received the 

 bath it gives off the pent-up beat in the body, and 

 therefore the charming odors and fragrance inhaled 

 is accounted for upon entering a forest immediately 

 after a rain shower. 



Lima Beans as a Field Crop. 

 The Lima, the most popular bean among ama- 

 teurs and market gardeners, is slow in finding its 

 way into the gardens of farmers. The dry beans 

 sell for several dollars a bushel, and the market has 

 never been adequately supplied. Lima beans are 

 easily raised and yield as bountifully as most other 

 pole beans, and they continue to blossom and bear 

 until killed by the frost. We know of no reason 

 why they cannot be made a specialty, like hops or 

 tobacco, and grown on a large scale. They would 

 require better soil and treatment than the common 

 field bean, but as the price is three times greater, 

 these could well be afforded. A rich, gravelly or 

 sandy loam suits them best, and the phosphatic 



manures are well adapted to-them. On this kind of 

 soil we have not found them to run too much to 

 vines, even with heavy dressings of compost pre- 

 pared from muck and stable manure. The vine is a 

 strong grower and requires abundant nourishment. 

 The pods are formed quite thickly from the top to 

 the bottom of the poles. They want the full benefit 

 of the sun, and the rows running north and south 

 should be four feet apart and the hills four feet apart 

 in the row. In planting we prefer to put the eye 

 downward and not more than one inch deep. The 

 first of June is early enough for this latitude. The 

 bean needs frequent cultivation until the vines shade 

 the ground. This crop is well suited for farmers re- 

 mote from cities and markets. The market garden- 

 er will not grow lima beans to sell dry, because they 

 are worth more in the green state and he can sell all 

 he can raise. But the farmer, however remote from 

 the city, can market his whole crop in the winter 

 and be well paid for his labor. — Country Gentleman. 



Value of Garden Vegetables. 



Nearly every farmer values the more common 

 vegetables, as sweet corn, potatoes, squashes and 

 cabbages ; but some of the finer, more delicious 

 ones seems not to be so generally appreciated, 

 such as celery, cauliflower, parsnip, salsify, (vege- 

 table oysters,) and tomatoes. 



Celery is a most healthful plant ; it is anti-fever ; 

 known as an excellent nervine, a quieter of dis- 

 turljed nerves, and promoter of sound sleep ; when 

 eaten freely it preserves a good stomach and sweet 

 breath. Most farmers do not raise and use as much 

 of it as is for their advantage to do- 



Caulifiower, when stewed in pure water, and 

 when about done having a little milk or cream stirred 

 in, properly seasoned to the taste, is far more 

 delicious than any cabbage, and to the most accus- 

 tomed to it, becomes regarded as one of the greatest 

 luxuries of the garden. 



Salsify is exceedingly delicious when properly 

 cooked and prepared ; we have eaten it when prefer- 

 red to any oysters. Cut up thin, in little wafers ; 

 boil in pure water; add a little milk, pepper and 

 salt ; eat it warm ; it contains a little mucilage that 

 is delicious, and affords much nutriment and aids 

 digestion. 



Tomatoes are better known and more generally 

 used, in various ways on the table, in sauces, stews, 

 catsups, etc.; but for our own eating we prefer them 

 raw, with a little sugar and vinegar, to any other 

 way . 



The Hubbard squash is a great favorite with us. 

 Many years ago, when it was first introduced, a friend 

 bought six seeds for $1, and gave away all but two, 

 wliich he planted in most favorable soil and position 

 They both came up well, but insects took one of 

 them ; the other grew well, and was carefully cared 

 for as a treasure ; it threw out two thrifty vines^ 

 each of which made nearly two rods of length ; 

 from these were produced over forty good, handsome 

 squashes, varying in size from a quart pitcher to a 

 two gallon jug. He sold some of these at fifty cents 

 and some at twenty-five cents, reserving a large 

 share for home use ; and they proved to be the most 

 sweet and delicious squashes ever eaten in that sec - 

 tion ; and the product of that one seed, thus dis- 

 tributed, seeded the whole of several counties. — 

 Boston American Florist and Farmer. 



Domestic Economy. 



Cleaning Carpets. 



In all our own experiments we have found nothing 

 so safe and serviceable as bran slightly moistened — 

 only very slightly — just sufficient to hold the par- 

 ticles together. In this case it is not necessary to 

 stop and clean the broom every few minutes. Sweep 

 ing the carpet after the bran has been sprinkled over 

 it not only cleans the carpet and gathers all the dirt 

 into the bran, but keeps the broom clean at the same 

 time. If too much dampened, aside from injuring 

 the carpet, it makes the work harder, because the 

 bran becomes very heavy if very damp. The bran 



