232 



NEW ENGLAND FAKMER. 



May 



to six inches deep, is a common one. But we pre- 

 fer the mode which you adopted in applying the 

 manure to the furrow and working it under a lit- 

 tle, say two to four inches. In this way, there is 

 little or no loss by evaporation from the manure ; 

 for as soon as fermentation takes place, and gases 

 are given off, they are taken up at once by the fine 

 soil, and held there to act upon other matter in 

 the soil, and eventually feed the plants. 



It is quite doubtful whether manure ploughed 

 under seven inches imparts to the first crop any 

 thing like its full power. If the land were ploughed 

 eight inches deep the succeeding year, and thor- 

 oughly mingled with the soil nearer the surface, 

 it would undoubtedly be of considerable service 

 to the crops growing upon it. 



The best way of applying manure to the soil is 

 to plough it under in its fresh state, even before it 

 cools, if that were practicable. 



NON-BEARING GOOSEBERRIES. 



Can you or any of your correspondents tell me 

 why my gooseberries don't bear ? They were 

 taken from a pasture five or six years ago, and 

 set in a moist, rich soil, just as 1 see recommended 

 by Mr. Fuller in the last Farmer ; but miue have 

 not borne a single berry since they were trans- 

 planted, although they have grown very thriftily 

 and blossomed profusely every year. The blos- 

 soms all blight and fall off before the fruit sets. 



Alexandria, N. H., March, 1870. i. l. f. 



Remarks. — No, we cannot tell. Did the bushes 

 bear in the pasture, where you found them ? We 

 can recommend one that will bear, — the Mountain 

 Seedling. It grows uprightly five or six feet, is a 

 great bearer, docs not mildew, and the fruit is ex- 

 cellent. "We have raised it for a dozen years, and 

 get a good crop every year. Smith's Seedling, 

 Houghton's Seedling, and Downing's Seedling are 

 said to be good varieties. They are cheap, and 

 may be had of any leading nurseryman. 



It is important to observe some particular points 

 in the cultivation of the gooseberry. 



1. It must have a moist, rich soil. 



2. Cultivate it in open ground, or at least, not 

 nnder trees. 



3. Prune it regularly and liberally in November. 

 Allow no suckers to grow. 



4. Thin out the berries when they get to the 

 size of small peas, if you mean to get excellent 

 fruit. 



5. Cultivate carefully, keeping all weeds and 

 grass away from the bushes. 



APPLE-TREE LICE. 



Can any reader of the Farmer tell me how to 

 to drive lice from apple-trees ? Last season 

 fiuit and fortst trees were infested by worms' 

 nests. These I destroyed as well as I could, but 

 tills spring those trees are literally covered with 

 lice. J. McAllister. 



Lee, Mass., March 7, 1870. 



Remarks. — We are not sure what insects are 

 alluded to by our correspondent. By worms 

 nests, we presume he means the tent caterpillar, 

 and by lice, the apple-bark louse. These two in- 



sects have no connection, and must be met with 

 different weapons. If it is the bark-louse that 

 covers the twigs of your trees, you have a hard 

 customer. If the trees are not too large the lice 

 may be thinned off by washing the limbs with a 

 composition made by boiling tobacco in lye and 

 then stirring in soft soap that was made cold till it 

 will work like paint. Other substances have also 

 been used. These little scales, which are the 

 dried remains of the mother insect, cover eggs 

 which will hatch out, in May or June, little white 

 atom?, almost invisible to the eye, which will dif- 

 fuse themselves over the tree, suck its sap, multi- 

 ply and perpetuate their species until the tree is 

 ruined. 



roofing. — POTASH TO 100 BUSHELS OF ASHES ? 

 SAL-SODA, TO KILL LICE ON CATTLE. 



In your extract from the Country Gentleman, I 

 find Mr. Neal's rooting consisted of coal tar and 

 road dust. What kind of soil produced that dust ? 

 Would common sand answer that purpose ? 



How many pounds of potash will a hundred 

 bushels of ashes make ? 



I find sal-soda will kill lice on cattle, applied in 

 the proportion of two quarts of water to one pound 

 of the sal-soda, and it is harmless. l. 



Winchendon, Mass., Feb., 1870. 



Remarks. — The article from the Country Gen- 

 tleman, in relation to roofing, was copied as a sug- 

 gestion, none of the facts in the case being linown 

 by us. A fine sand might answer all purposes. 

 All experiments of this nature should be made in 

 a limited and inexpensive, but faithful manner, as 

 far as we go. 



The number of pounds of potash in one hundred 

 bushels of ashes would vary with the kind of wood, 

 the nature of the soil upon which the plants grev/, 

 with the size of the trees and season when they 

 were cut, and especially in regard to the manner 

 in which the wood was burnt. If burnt in a com- 

 mon fireplace, there would be a larger amount of 

 potash in the ashes than if the wood were burned 

 in the fierce heat under the boiler of a locomotive. 



As a general rule and one sufficiently near, per- 

 haps, for agricultural purposes — we can allow from 

 fme to seven pounds of potash for every 100 pounds 

 of clean wood ashes. 



WHEAT. — KIND — AMOUNT OF SEED — WHEN TO 

 80AV — PREPARATION OF SOIL AND SEED. 



I am about to sow a piece of ground to wheat, 

 but being a novice in the business, I write to you 

 for information. My ground is a clay loam, well 

 drained, naturally, and would produce fifty bush- 

 els of corn to the acre. What kind of wheat shall 

 I sow to make nice flour ? How much per acre, 

 and when ? And how prepare the ground and 

 seed ? The land was planted last year to potatoes. 

 Theo. G. Lincoln. 



Taunton, Mass., March, 1870. 



Remarks.— There are several kinds of spring 

 wheat, the Turkey, Italian, Black Sea and others. 

 Which is best we are not able to say. The amount 

 used by good farmers is from four pecks to eight 

 or nine pecks per acre. About a bushel and a half 

 is pretty near the average. 



