1862. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



369 



Fur the New England Farmer. 



NOTES PROM THE MONOMACK, 



BY SAGGAHEW. 



Hints for Nurserymen. — It is quite com- 

 mon among nurserymen, in cases where they re- 

 ceive orders for any variety of tree, shrub or plant 

 they happen to be out of, to "substitute" some 

 kind that they have. If, for instance, a customer 

 orders the Doyenne d'Ete and Easter Beurre pear 

 trees, they send him the Brandywine and the Ep- 

 ine Dumas. (This was actually done the last 

 spring by one of our most distinguished and "re- 

 liable" nurserymen.) Now is there a single hon- 

 est reason for so doing ? We think not. It is 

 not a good excuse, even, to say that they send the 

 customer "something as near as they can" to the 

 article ordered, unless the customer expressly al- 

 lows them that liberty. In the case above men- 

 tioned, customers wanted those particular kinds, 

 and no others, and it was a perplexity, and a pe- 

 cuniary loss to the agent through whom the order 

 was sent. The latter did not recognize any obli- 

 gation, either express or implied, on the part of 

 the customers, to take what they did not order and 

 did not want, and he was obliged to sell the sur- 

 plus as best he could, and re-order of another 

 party. What would be thought of the merchant 

 who should venture to adopt such a practice in his 

 business ? We think he would soon find it "a 

 hard road to trabbel," and deservedly so. If all 

 customers hold the opinions of the writer, those 

 nurserymen who continue this bad practice will 

 in time find a falling off in their annual orders. 



There is also need of a revision in the prices 

 which some of our nurserymen charge their cus- 

 tomers for packing goods ordered. We admit 

 that, in most cases, a charge should be made, but 

 we car. think of no good reason why a customer 

 should be asked to pay moi'e than a fair jjrice for 

 the material used, and the labor spent in doing it. 

 At prices in several cases charged the writer, any 

 common laborer, with a little practice, could easi- 

 ly earn $20 per day in packing, after allowing fair 

 prices for all materials used. A customer ought 

 not to be charged for taking up and collecting the 

 articles ordered, because the catalogue price, or 

 price agreed upon, covers this, by common con- 

 sent. If the nursery happens to cover a large ex- 

 tent of territory, or is cut up into lots more or less 

 distant from each other, it is no fault of the cus- 

 tomer, and he will be justified if he declines to 

 pay for such disadvantages under the plea of 

 "charges for packing." 



Cutting back Newly Transplanted Trees 

 AND Vines. — It not unfrequently happens that a 

 tree, or vine, does not start well after it is set out. 

 It even refuses to start at all, and begins to "die 

 down" from the extremities, towards the roots. If 

 let alone, it will probably be entirely dead before 

 the summer is over. Sometimes a tree starts 

 quite feebly, and it seems doubtful if it will mus- 

 ter vitality enough to keep it alive. In these I 

 cases, also, if let alone, the chances are that death 

 will be the result. A large majority of such trees 

 can be saved, by simply cutting them back. The 

 writer has saved several such the present season. 

 In some cases, a severe shortening-in of all the 

 branches was sufficient, in others it was found 

 necessary to cut the whole tree back nearly to the 



ground. By so doing, the remaining vitality is 

 allowed to expend its whole force upon a few buds, 

 which push with vigor, and soon sufiicient foliage 

 is secured to save the tree. Where a tree starts 

 at first, but afterwards falters, or where it fails to 

 develop foliage and yet the limbs appear to be 

 quite fresh, a severe cutting back will in most 

 cases be successful, even if performed as late as 

 July or August. This is particularly the case with 

 pear trees and grape vines. 



KILLIWO KATS— A NOVEL TRAP. 



The premises of a good many farmers are often 

 infested with rats, and we are often asked for 

 modes of destruction. A resident of Brooklyn is 

 vexed with an increasing family of rats that seem 

 to grow fat on arsenic and rat-exterminators. He 

 doesn't like rats, and refers his case to the Sun- 

 daij Times. That journal recommends a trap 

 made as follows : 



"Take a mackerel bari'el, for instance, and fill 

 it to about one-third its height with water. Then 

 place a log endwise in the water, so that one end 

 of it will just remain above the surfiice. Make 

 the head of the barrel a little too small to fit, and 

 suspend it by two jiins to the inside of the top of 

 the barrel, so it will hang as if on a pivot and ea- 

 sily tip by touching either side. On this head, 

 thus suspened, secure a piece of savory meat. 

 The first rat that scents it, will, to get the meat, 

 leap on the barrel head. The head will tip, or 

 tilt, and precipitate him into the water, and re- 

 sume its former position. The rat in the water 

 will SM'im to the log, get on the end of it, and 

 squeal vociferously. His cries v.ill bring other 

 rats, all of whom will be tilted into the water, and 

 all of whom will fight for the only dry spot in it — 

 viz., the end of the log. As only one rat can hold 

 it, the victor will drown all the rest, and can, in 

 the morning be drowned himself. We have seen 

 twenty rats caught in one night by such a trick. 



DISINFECTING AGENTS. 



Now that the warm weather is upon us, our citi- 

 zens should thoroughly cleanse their premises, 

 rendering them as pure and healthy as possible. 

 We are convinced that a great portion of the dis- 

 ease so prevalent during the hot months in sum- 

 mer, is attributable to the accumulation of filth in 

 alleys and yards. There are a number of disin- 

 fecting agents which will be found efficacious in 

 removing offensive smells from damp, mouldy 

 cellars, yards, pools of stagnant water, decaying 

 vegetable matter, &c. Either of the following will 

 answer the purpose, while they cost but a trifle : 



1. One pint of the liquor of chloride of zinc, in 

 one pailful of water, and one pound of chloride of 

 lime in another pailful of water. This is perhaps 

 the most effective of anything that can be used, 

 and when throw-n upon decayed vegetable matter 

 of any description, will effectually destroy all of- 

 fensive odors. 



2. Three or four pounds of sulphate of iron 

 (copperas) di.^solved in a pailful of water will, in 

 many cases, be sufficient to remove all offensive 

 odors. 



3. Chloride of lime is better to scatter about in 

 damp places, in yards and damp cellars, and upon 

 heaps of filth. — Scientific American. 



