1867. 



KEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



285 



upon stakes, two to each vine. For the first 

 two years (if one year ohl plants) I usually 

 plant a single row of' cuttings, turnips, carrots 

 or beans ; turn a furrow midway of the rows ; 

 into this I put tine compost ; the ground is fre- 

 quently stirred and the weeds kept down, the 

 crop paying the expense of cultivation. For 

 the third year the fruit will pay it. 



Right Time to Cut Grass. — As there 

 seems to be some question as to the proper 

 time to cut grass for hay, I will give my opin- 

 ion. Cut early, that is, as soon as the herds- 

 grass begins to blossom. I find by my records, 

 I commenced cutting my grass the 16th of 

 June in 1862, in 1863 the 15th of June — in 

 1864, the 1-lth— in 1865 the Uth of June— 

 in 1866 the 25th of June. And now for the 

 quality of the hay. I feed it to my milch 

 cows, without any other feed ; they would 

 give milk until they calved, did I not dry 

 them off. I dried off two cows the middle of 

 January — one gave two quarls of milk, the 

 other three, per day. They are to calve the 

 7th and 8th of February. I have milked the ^^-^i 

 same cows until they calved, but think it in- --ff^r^n^ 

 jured them. -y 



I feed my working oxen and fat cattle on ' ^-/^'^kfl 

 the same kind of hay, and find it far superior ' /"''' 



to late cut hay. You get nearly as much 

 weight as you would if you cut your grass 

 later — that is, the first crop — if you cut the 

 aftermath you will get one-third more. There 

 is another advantage. A barn will hold from 

 one-quarter to one-third more in weight — the 

 cost of cutting the same, of making double, 

 and the carting into the barn the same. — Asa 

 Hubbard, Middleton, Ct., in Co. Gentleman. 



CULTIVATION OF HOPS. 

 Our last article closed by directing that 

 a covering of two good forkfuls of manure 

 be put upon each hill in the autumn of the first 

 season. Early in the spring of the second 

 year, and every year thereafter, this manure 

 should be removed, with the dirt from the 

 mam root, and all side shoots or surface 

 runners, also the crown or top, trimmed off, as 

 directed by Mr. Hansen in the article published 

 in the Monthly Farmer for April, p. 176. The 

 following illustrations show the whole process. 



Fig. 4. Plant Untrimmed. Fig. 5. Plant Trimmed. 

 Figure 4 represents the plant before trim- 



NEW PUBLICATIONS. 



Beet Root Sugar and Cultivation of the Beet. Bj' 

 E. B. Grant. Boston : Lee and Bhepard. 1867. 158 

 pages. Fiice $1.25, bound. 



Wc believe that American farmers can and 

 should pioducc the wool used by our manufactur- 

 ers ; and wo also believe that it is possible for us 

 to raise our own sugar. The object of this little 

 woi'k is to demonstrate the advantage and feasi- 

 bility of producing beet-sugar in this country. 

 After a general history of the business in Europe, 

 with observations upon the relative advantages of 

 the Old and New World for its production, the 

 author gives instruction for tlie choice of soil suita- 

 ble for the cultivation of beets ; the methods of pre- 

 servation ; of raising the seed ; and of the preserva- 

 tion and use of the pulp. To collect the informa- 

 tion embodied in this volume, the author visited 

 the principal establishments in France and Ger- 

 many, as well as the prairies of the West ; and yet 

 the publisliers place the book in our hands without 

 an index — an omission tliat seriously detracts ft'om 

 the value of this timely manual. 



— It is said that 400 steam cultivators are at 

 work in England, displacing 2500 horses. 



ming, and figure 5, the plant after having been 

 trimmed. Mr. Hansen says these trimmings, 

 or sets, if not needed for immediate planting 

 or sale, may be buried a foot deep, kept clean 

 during the summer, and used the next spring. 

 This is called "grubbing," technically; and it 

 is well to make it so literally, by destroying all 

 the grubs that may be seen about the hills. 

 There are two kinds of grub — one which 

 makes a beetle, with a dark, hard head, and 

 white body, with legs all on the foi-e part of 

 the body. It is always found doubled up like 

 a horse-shoe. The other is a caterpillar, which 

 makes a butterfly. Both must be killed where- 

 ever found. After covering the root-stalk with 

 fresh earth, the poles should be immediately 

 set. The earth is less compact immediately 

 after the frost leaves the ground than when it 

 is thoroughly settled. 



We must assume that the necessary poles 

 were procured and prepared during the previ- 

 ous winter. Red cedar, tamarac, hemlock, 

 spruce, pine, chestnut, ash, and almost any 

 kind of wood will answer. In his contribu- 

 tion to Mr. Judd''s Hop Culture, Mr. Ryder, 

 Coventry, Ct., says, "get them of as uniform 



