284 THE SMALL COUNTRY PLACE 



any spores of disease there may be upon them. Spray- 

 ing with a thick Bordeaux mixture or the lime-sulphur 

 mixture will help the vines resist mildews, anthracnose, 

 black-rot, and other diseases. 



Small Fruits. Raspberry canes may now be uncov- 

 ered, straightened up from the ground, and pruned. 

 Spraying as advised for the grapevine will be a decided 

 benefit. 



Tools. See that every tool is cleaned and wiped dry 

 after using. They should be hung up in a dry place. 

 Keep the edges of hoes, spades, etc., sharp with the file 

 or on the grindstone. A pound of effort in this way 

 will save untold pounds of labor when we are using 

 them among weeds and in digging where there are roots 

 of trees and grass. 



Fertilizers. Quickly soluble fertilizers like nitrate of 

 soda or sulphate of ammonia, should not be sown until 

 about the time the plants begin to grow. Much better 

 results will be obtained from all fertilizers if sown in 

 close contact with the roots. For seeds it should be 

 drilled in or finely mixed with the soil used in covering. 

 For fruit trees, small fruits, etc., it should be spread 

 close about them as far as the branches or leaves ex- 

 tend, and be cultivated or hoed in. 



Seed Testing. No risk should be run in planting 

 untested seed. If the dealer will not guarantee the 

 vitality of the seeds, a home-made tester may be made of 

 two soup-plates, a little sand, and two sheets of blotting 

 paper or cheesecloth large enough to cover the plates. 

 The sand is put into the plate level full and made per- 

 fectly level by drawing a straight edge over it. It is 

 then wet almost to saturation and one sheet of the 

 blotting paper or cheesecloth spread over it. Then 10, 

 25, or 100 seeds are placed on the cloth or paper, the 

 second cover is put on, and a little sand sprinkled over 



