701^. X\II. \0. 4 I. 



AND HORTICULTURAL REGISTER 



325 



For ihe N. E. Farmer. 



RE'*.RING CALVES ON SKIM-.MILK. 

 'Ir Hreck — Ii. llic New EiiglaiKl FuriiiPr, of llie 

 I Ftb.. Iiiat, over tlie signature of " AiUi-Skiiii- 

 ter," is an article whicli Ueservee a piissing no- 

 It is not a little arnusinnr to one wliu lias 

 n in tlic pructice of raising calves for fifty 

 rs, to read the confident opinions of one who is 

 lenlly but little acquainted with the subject. 

 AntiSkiiu inilkor" says " it is as unnatural" 

 t is skim iiiilk fur raising calves.) " as it is ini- 

 tic — and they who adopt it for presemt gain, 

 I, most likely, at the expense of future los^." 

 osl likely" : — if the writer knows any thing 

 ut it, why not tell us what he knows .' New 

 ;lanil farmers are matter-of-fact men ; Ihey want 

 8 well attes.ed. 



'he writer ^'oes cii to say, " As to ' skirn milk' 

 skini milk' fwns being proper food for calvrs 

 gned for rearing, the bare idea is ridiculous 

 ugh, and no one, it may be supposed, who con- 

 ed las true interest, would practice it," &c. 

 'or si.\ty years the writer of this has been 

 ewh t conversant with raising calves, and for 

 rjy filly years been in the annual prstctice of it, 

 by this time, if not a very dull scholar, ought 

 note something, rather than guiss. It is all a 

 nisical theory tli.it there cannot be as good cat- 

 raised on skim milk, as to size and shape, as in 

 other way. Tliey are more hardy, make bet- 

 working oxen ; and for cows, quite as likely to 

 e good milkers, und quite as good to propagate 

 1. 



Vhy, sir, I have raised calves on skim milk, that, 

 ■n grown to oxen, were as handsome as any 

 !rs, and weighed, when slaughtered at Brighton, 

 ;wt., and cows that weighed 10 cwt., and had 

 lbs. rough tallow. 



)ne objection to raising calves by letting them 

 k a cow till some months old is, that it makes 

 inucli bone — especially the legs are apt to be 

 large, and not so firm as those which have a 

 ■ rapid growth when young ; and they are more 

 to tire when worked. 



)nee more, and I have done with ■' Anti-Skim- 

 tor." lie says — " Why do we dsem it essen- 

 10 nourish our babes with good, rich milk, when 

 ;n from the mother?" &c. Those who under- 

 id raising " babes" do not : it is loo rich and 

 rty fur their iicalth, Much better for them that 

 e skimmed or watered. Why, sir, I have had, 

 rather my wife has had,) some experience in 

 ing " babes" — and it was our practice to water 

 milk given ihein ; and so far as my knowledge 

 Bnds, it is the general practice in the country, 

 ire we have rich milk, to water it. 



A Skim-mii.ker. 

 'f'e9tboro\ Marck 2S, 1844. 



"each Trees. — A correspondent of the Morris 

 jeyman says : — " I am satisfied that screenings 

 nthracite coal are a good protection of peach 

 !S against worms. I placed around each tree, 

 5X, two feet square and six inches deep, and 

 id it with the coal ; and they have no indica- 

 , of worms about them." 



rhe eye of a master will do more work than both 

 hands. Not to oversee workinfn is to leave 

 m your purse open. — Franklin. 



From the Albany Cultivator. 



CULTURE OF FRUIT. 

 Griiflincr. — One of Ihe most important opera- 

 tions in the culture of fruit tree.-:, is the propaga- 

 I lion of varieties by budding and grnfling. By 

 I means of these, we exchange the unpalatable fruit 

 ' of the wilding for the most delicious productions 

 which art and nature combined have been able to 

 furnish. And there are few gardens or orchards 

 , which might not be greatly improved by the intro- 

 duction of the best varieties, the cultivation and 

 I care of which cost no more than that of the most 

 worthless. 



Budding and grafting have their respective ad- 

 vantages and disadvantages. Budding requires 

 lees skill and care, but needs the subsequent atten- 

 j lion of removing the ligatures, and heading down 

 the stocks. Grafting does not need this subsequent 

 care, but more skill is requisite in the operation. 

 The peach and nectarine can rarely if ever be 

 ' propagated by grafting; and buddin;: cannot be 

 ' performed on large and unthrifty stocks, which 

 may often be success, ully grafted. 



Books on gardening de.ocribe many difTerent 

 modes of grafting; but the multiplicity of these 

 often more bewilder the learner than instruct him. 

 By understanding the essential requisites, the ope- 

 ration is at once simplified, and it may be varied at 

 pleasure without danger of failure. The two chief 

 points are, that the sa/i flowing npward ffiroiigh the 

 slock pass freely into the graft, awl that it returns 

 icithoiit ititerruption from the inner bark of the stock. 

 To secure these, both the wood and bark in the 

 stock and graft must be so cut as to admit of being 

 placed ill close contact, and when so placed, the 

 line of separation between the bark and wood, 

 should, on one side at least, exactly coincide in 

 both. 



The most common and useful modes are the 

 whip and cleft grnfling. Whip grafting is adopted 

 where the stock and graft are of nearly equal size. 

 To perform it, the stock and graft are cut off ob- 

 liquely with an equal degree of slope, so as to 

 leave two smooth straight surfaces which may be 

 brought into close cnntacl. A transverse cleft 

 with the knife is to be made near the middle of 

 each of these surfaces, about one-third of an inch 

 deep, so that when they are pressed togotlier, the 

 tongue and slit thus made in each, may mutually 

 and firmly interlock. It is then usual to bind 

 them to their place with basa or corn husk ; hut it 

 is better to have the jaws of the cleft in each so 

 firmly pressed together as to render this unneces- 

 sary. The whole is then to be closely wrapped in 

 a grafting plaster. 



Where the stock is more than half an incli in 

 diameter, cleft grafting is preferable. The stock 

 is first cut olT horizontally, and a split made in it 

 at the middle of the cut surface an inch or two in 

 depth ; in this, the graft, cut wedge-like, is insert- 

 ed. To do it properly, it is requisite that the graft 

 be BO cut as to fit the split as nearly as possible, 

 which is to be opened by a wedge on the side op- 

 posite from the place for tlie graft, and that the 

 jaws of the .stock be strong enough to press the 

 sides firmly and closely. After this, the plaster is 

 applied. 



It is convenient in grafting, to have two knives, 



I one chiefiy for cutting, and the other very sh.irp, 



for smoothing the surfaces for contact. 



I All the branches and buds on the stock must be 



I carefully removed, that the sap may ali go to the 



nnuri«hinent of the graft. Failure is often caused 



by a want of this care. 



I In heading down old trees, it is a common prac- 



I tice to giiift into llie largo branches; it would be 



I much belter to cut off iliojc branclu's, and to graft 



or bud into the young shuots which spring up in 



their places. 



i The practice of using clay to cover the wounds, 



I is now nearly superseded by the far neater and 



j better mode of applying plasters of grafting wax. 



These are made the mo-^t readily and cheaply by 



spreading the warmed wax over a sheet of unsized 



paper with a knife, or with a brush when melted, 



and afterwards cutting up into plasters of the requi- 



jsito size. The best and cheapest wax is made by 



I melting together one part of beeswax, two parts of 



j tallow, and four of rosin. 



j As grafting early in spring is genemlly prefera- 

 ble, (more especially for the cherry,) it becomes 

 necessary in cool weather, to soften the wax by 

 artificial heat. A kettle of coal.% or a lamp, may 

 be used for this purpose. 



Budding. — Budding is always to be performed 

 when the bark peels freely, which takes place when 

 the stocks are in a rapidly growing st»tp. Cher- 

 ries and plums should always be budded by the 

 middle of summer ; apples and pears often contin- 

 ue growing rapidly a month later, and peaches may 

 be done even as late as the conuuenceinenl of au- 

 tumn. 



It is indispensable to successful budding, that 

 the stock be thrifty, and the shoot in which the 

 bud is inserted, not more than a year or two old. 

 No skill can succeed in old or stunted stocks. For 

 the cambium, or mucilaginous substance between 

 the bark and wood, which hardens into the new 

 wood, and which cements the bud to the stock, ex- 

 ists only in sufficient quantities for this purpose in 

 fast growing branches. 



Every bud is an embryo plant, and the object is 

 to transfer this from one tree to another. To ef- 

 fect this, it is only necessary that the bud be cut 

 smoothly from the shoot with a very small portion 

 of wood with it, and inserted under the raised bark 

 of the stock, in close contact with the cambium. 

 Provided the stock is thrifty and growing ; the 

 bud smoothly cut off, and closely and evenly ap- 

 plied to the stock ; the cambium uninjured by re- 

 moving the barks ; and the bud be kept to its 

 place a few days by a ligature of moderate pres- 

 sure ; it is of little consequence how the operation 

 is performed, and there can be little danger of 

 failure. 



The common way of cutting the bark to remove 

 it, is to make a transverse cut and longitudinal slit 

 just through it, like the letter T. The bud is then 

 slid downwards under the bark, in the middle of 

 the slit. Whatever mode is adopted, the bark 

 should b(! lifted by placing the knife at the edge, 

 and not by running it under, as this alway.^ in- 

 jures the cambium. After the bud is inserted, the 

 whole should bo covered, except the bud itself, 

 with a ligature of moistened bass, com husk, tow, 

 or other soft substance, bound round it with just 

 sufficient force to press the bud closely on the 

 stock. In about two weeks, or as soon as the lig- 

 ature begins to cut into the stock, it must be re- 

 moved. Early the following spring, thu stock is 

 to be cut ofTa quarter of an inch above the bud, 

 and in a direction sloping towards it, and all the 

 branches and other buds carefully removed, that 

 the whole of the nourishment may go to its growth. 



Macedon, ft'ayne Co., .V. Y. . J. J. T. 



