1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



213 



much, however, is gained by preparing the ground, 

 and having everything made ready. 



Hot beds are got up so cheaply, and may be 

 constructed so simply, that none should entirely 

 neglect this means of hurrying forward a few cu- 

 cumbers, radishes, lettuces, cabbages, tomatoes, 

 peppers, &c., &c. 



In the monthly Farmer for January, (p. 13,) 

 we published from Liebig's 3Ioclern Agriculture, 

 an account of "John Chinaman as an agricultur- 

 ist." John, by his management, has kept the 

 fertility of his soil unimpaii-ed from the time the 

 pyramids were planted. It seems, by that ac- 

 count that he prepares a special manure for 

 seeds, and that he also soaks and sprouts his 

 seeds in weak liquid manure, which promotes the 

 growth and development of the plant, and pro- 

 tects it from insects. May It not be well for 

 American gardeners to try some of these time- 

 honored practices of the Chinese ? 



Where our gardens are well manured, early 

 crops may often be followed by later ones. By 

 some the ground intended for melons is sown with 

 early peas in rows six feet apart, which will leave 

 space for a row of melon hills, in which the plants 

 are started before the peas are removed ; winter 

 cabbages are raised after early potatoes. In fact, 

 a small garden will afford room for large calcula- 

 tions, use for odd moments, and nuts for the mind 

 as well as teeth. 



ter-merchants in Boston, and a man of the strict- 

 est integrity, too, advise a farmer to use a little 

 carrot juice in the winter-made butter, as it not 

 only improved the color, but the quality of the 

 butter. The danger is in using too much. "Our 

 folks" make butter through the winter, and al- 

 though we feed good English hay, beets, mangolds 

 and corn meal, it is difficult to produce the high 

 color in butter which the market demands. 



For the New England Farmer, 

 CAKROT JUICE IN BUTTER. 



Mr. Editor : — In the last Farmer, Mr. Ever- 

 ett states that carrot juice put into butter is an 

 improvement, in proof of which he cites the long 

 time it has been practiced, by nearly all the but- 

 ter-makers of the Bay State. It reminds me of 

 the woman in New York city whose milkman, 

 wishing to be honest, carried her good milk, but 

 the woman denounced it, saying she did not like 

 the dirty yellow scum on it, but preferred the sky- 

 blue article. Now if carrot juice really improves 

 the quality of butter, I am surprised, as well as 

 the South Danvers correspondent. I thought the 

 coloring of butter merely a deception, practiced 

 by those who were preparing the article for the 

 market, the same as stuffing the soles of shoes 

 with wood, galvanizing brass and passing it off 

 for gold, and thousands of other vile deceptions 

 to gull the unsophisticated. But when such a 

 practice is published for an improvement, it is 

 time for us to pause and consider. If there is any 

 improvement in butter by the use of carrot juice, 

 let it be given to the cows. I contend that cows 

 fed on corn meal will color butter sufficiently 

 through the winter, and increase the quantity and 

 quality, I hope some of the farmers of the old 

 Bay State will try it, and give us the result. 



Derry, Feb., 1860. Dairywoman. 



Remarks. — We are happy to inform our lady 

 correspondent, that we heard one of the best but- 



/"or tlie New England Farmer. 

 INGRAFTING. 



Mr. Editor : — Notwithstanding the best time 

 for cutting scions for ingrafting the present year 

 has past, I think they may be cut the present 

 month with safety. I cut my scions in the month 

 of February, label them, and make a little hollow 

 in the ground the backside of an underground 

 room, or cellar opening to the south, put them in 

 and cover with a coating of oat straw, well damp- 

 ened. In this way I have had them keep fifteen 

 months in a perfect condition, and ingi-afting them 

 at the age above named, have had them grow well. 

 The second spring I have had them plump as when 

 first cut. Nature, in her effort to sustain life, had 

 thrust out a pulp, or bunch on the end cut off, to 

 a considerable size, while the buds have been 

 greatly enlarged. Swamp moss is quite good to 

 keep them. I make my ingrafting wax of tallow, 

 (grass fed best,) one part, beeswax two, and rosin 

 four. For nurseries, make harder. After melt- 

 ing it, I turn it into water, or add water to the 

 composition, and when cold, cut it Into pieces, 

 and di-aw it as wax for shoemaking, until it is 

 quite tough. In using, keep it in warm water, 

 and use tallow on the hands. In fitting my scions 

 I have but two or three buds on them. In mak- 

 ing the tenon, I am careful to get a good fit, not 

 quite to an edge on the end, if so, the bark will 

 be more apt to start on the end of the scion, and 

 thus make an imperfect spot. Make tlie tenon a 

 good length. I observe in setting, to have the 

 inner bark of the scion a little out from the iii- 

 side bark of the stump. Many scions are lost 

 where there is not a good fit, while nature is mak- 

 ing an effort to unite them. 



After the scion is inserted, it is in a fixed posi- 

 tion, and the stock is continually enlarging, while 

 the mucus or chyle of the wood is forming a un- 

 ion. Hence the necessity of having the scion 

 stand out enough to take the sap when ready to 

 pass. Since I have adopted this method, I have 

 had far less failures, and the union has been more 

 natural, and of course the growth more rapid. 



In one instance, I ingrafted a scion into a stock 

 near the ground, with the finishing bud left on, 

 (though I do not approve of it,) which produced 

 the first year a growth of thirty feet ; as estimated 

 by two or three individuals. It grew to the height 

 of about six feet. In a number of instances, I 

 have had ripe fruit the first year ingrafted. 



I prefer to set two scions where the stump is 

 large enough to admit of it. I think if they both 

 live, the growth is more rapid, and less liable to 

 the evils that often follow. In such cases, I gen- 

 erally cut out one graft, before they crowd each 

 other. When that is done, it should be with the 



