298 



NEW ENGLAND FARMTTl. 



July 



ened bv the tropical heat of the July sun, or our 

 strength seems insufficient for the work which 

 presses upon us, we love to think of the good 

 time coming when wheels and cranks, levers and 

 pulleys, of wood and iron, and other unconscious 

 material, are to relieve overtasked human sinews 

 on the farm, as they already have done to so great 

 an extent in the shop and factory. 



We do not suppose that all farmers will agree 

 with U5 in these pleasant anticipations. There 

 are now, as there always have been, many good 

 men, especially among the laboring classes, who 

 look upon the introduction of new machinery, and 

 indeed, upon all new modes and improvements 

 with fear and jealousy. The first saw-mill in Eng- 

 land, it is said, wr.s demolished. And probably 

 there is no machine in use whose introduction was 

 not objected to and opposed by some individuals, 

 often with the plea that its employment would de- 

 prive honest men and Avomen of the means of 

 support. But this objection genei-ally proves 

 groundless. The old copyists who made books 

 with the pen, in the city of Paris, mobbed the man 

 who first ofi'ered printed books for sale ; yet the 

 invention of printing has increased bookmakers 

 many hundred fold. 



For our own part, we like to listen to the clat- 

 ter of a mowing machine as it moves along 

 through the meadow, and to the l)usy click of the 

 sewing machine as it assists the women folks in 

 their labor. 



We rejoice at all these evidences of the union, 

 even upon the farm and in the farm-house, of 

 Mind with Hand. 



in Minter and early spring than in summer, when 

 the leaves have carried off a part. The wood is 

 also rather less watery after midsummer than be- 

 fore, and dries better, and makes harder seasoned 

 stuff. It is, therefore, not quite so well to cut it 

 till rather after midsummer.] — Country Gent. 



TIME TO CUT TIMBER. 



When is the best season to cut building timber 

 other than evergreens — say oak, ma]3le, beech, 

 basswood, &c., to be cured in the old-fashioned 

 way after it is in the frame ? Our people differ 

 very much u]5on the subject ; some say M'hen the 

 leaf is off; others when it is on — some say when 

 the bark will run ; others prefer the winter in 

 February. Another class, that when the sap is 

 out of the wood, which they claim to be in sum- 

 mer, Avhile others maintain that that time is in 

 February. I have had but little ex])erience, but 

 that little leads to the time when the bark will 

 peal, which is generally in the early summer. 

 What say you? It is of importance to me just 

 now, and I should like to know. — G. Clarke, 

 East Springfield, March, 1862. 



P. S. — I notice in many of our frames, much of 

 the oak has powder-posted. That ought not to be. 

 I am a great lover of oak on account of its strength, 

 but don't want a powder-posted building. I don't 

 mean white oak ; that has all left long ago. 



[Summer is the best time to cut timber, chiefly 

 because it seasons rapidly at that time. It should, 

 of course, be left in the logs as short a time as 

 practicable. Timber cut in winter is long drying, 

 and inci]:)ient decay commences before the process 

 is completed. There is rather more sap in a tree 



NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



Open Air Grape Culture ; A Practical Treatise on the Garden 

 and Vineyard Culture of the Vine, and the Manufacture of Do- 

 mestic Wine. Designed for the use of Amateurg and others in 

 the Northern and Middle States. Profusely Illustrated with 

 new Engravings fi'om carefully executed DesiRns, verified hy 

 direct practice. By Joiix PniN, Author of Essay on Open- 

 Air Grape Culture, to which was awarded to first premium of 

 the American Institute. To which is added a Seleotioa of Ex- 

 amples of American Vineyard Practice, and a ciirefully pre- 

 pared description of the celebrated Thomcry System of Grape 

 Culture. New York: C. M. Saxton, Af?ricultural Book Pub- 

 lisher ; Boston: A.Williams & Co. 1 vol. 12mo, 375 pp. 

 Price $1. 



This is a valuable work for the common cultiva- 

 tor. It has full directions in relation to the pre- 

 paration of the soil by draining, trenching and ma- 

 nuring, the time and mode of planting the vines, 

 and the subsequent care necessary to be devoted 

 to them in order to secure compensating crops. It 

 has a chapter, also, on the various modes of propa- 

 gating the vine, and, indeed, upon every particular 

 point of information which those unacquainted 

 with grape culture may require. The work is 

 beautifully printed on large type, and will be found 

 a valuable help to those who consult its pages. 



What we need, however — and what no book 

 can supply — is a grape that is sufficiently hardy 

 to withstand the rigor of our climate unprotected, 

 and that will perfect itself during our short sea- 

 sons of growth. We shall have such a grape, un- 

 doubtedly, but it has not made its appearance yet. 

 In the meantime, let us consult the book before 

 us, and press on to greater success. 



THE BEST TIME TO PRUNE. 



An old clergyman is quoted as defining this 

 time to be "when your knife is sharp." He was 

 certainly half right, for a smooth, clean cut is very 

 essential to the healing of the wound. But there 

 is very great difference in the healing of wounds 

 on account of the season in which tliey are made. 

 Pruning done in INIarch and April, especially if 

 large limbs are removed, often injures an orchard 

 for life. The sap oozes from all the pores and 

 runs down the bark, discoloring it and oftentimes 

 destroying it — called scalding. Without other 

 protection, decay begins, and in a few years you 

 have a hollow limb. 



We like the month of June for pruning better 

 than all others. If the work is done soon after 

 the new wood begins to form, the wounds made 

 by the removal of small limbs will be nearly cov- 

 ered over the same season they are made. The 

 leaves make such a demand upon the wood for 

 sap that none of it escapes from the wounded 

 pores. It is also a favorable time for thumb- 

 pruning. By watcliing the growth of the shoots 

 u])on young trees they may be brought into sym- 

 metrical shape without much use of the knife. — 

 American Ayriculiurid. 



