598 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Nov. 



EXTRACTS AND REPLIES. 



YEA8T GRAHAM BREAD. — HOW TO USE ASHES. — 

 BORERS IX APPLE TREES. — MOSS OX APPLE 

 TREES. — USE OF SALT ON THE SOIL. — MULCHING 

 8TRAWHERRIES. — AliOUT REFRIGERATORS. 



Can you or any ot your lady readers give, 

 throu'ih the New England Farmer, a good re- 

 cipe for yeast Graliam bread ? 



2. Will you please tell me the best way to use 

 dry ashes, the best time to apply, and the quantity 

 per acre ? 



3. Is there anything that can be put around 

 young apple trees to prevent borers from injuring 

 them ? 



4. What will prevent moss from growing on the 

 trunks or bodies of young apple trees ? 



5. When is the best time to apply salt to the soil, 

 and what quantity per acre ? Would it be a good 

 way to sow salt on the garden this fall, and plough 

 it in ? If so, bow much per acre ? 



6. When is the right time to mulch strawberries ? 

 Should the plants be covered or should the mulch 

 only be put around roots under the leaves ? 



I noticed in a back number of the Farmer, a 

 correspondent making a refrigerator without tilling 

 the space between the boxes. Would it not be a 

 better plan to till the space ? A Subscrirer. 



Sheldomille, Norfolk Co., Oct. 9, 1871. 



Remarks. — 1. Yeast Graham bread. A notable 

 housekeeper assures us that the following is per- 

 fect : — 3 quarts Graham meal ; 1 pint of wheat flour ; 

 2 common cups molasses ; 1^ cups of good yeast ; 

 a little salt; warm water enough to make a soft 

 dough. Stir it together over night. The next 

 morning pour it into pans to rise a short time, and 

 bake in a moderate oven. 



2. A good way to use dry wood ashes is to sow 

 them upon the soil at the most convenient oppor- : 

 tunity after they are collected. In the fall, as top- i 

 dressing; in the spring, on lands sowed with grain I 

 and seeded to grass. Another good way is to mix ! 

 ashes with old muck, and strew a large handful of 

 the mixture in the corn hills, and particularly in 

 the potato hills. In the garden, scarcely anything 

 can be better. It will have a wonderful influence 

 on the fruits and vegetables there. W^e think a 

 moderate quantity of ashes at one time, preferable 

 to a large amount. If a hundred bushels were to 

 be used, we should greatly prefer to spread it over 

 four or five acres than apply it all to one acre. 



3. Wc have never found anything placed around 

 the stems of young apple trees, that would entirely 

 prevent the entrance of borers. Many things have 

 been suggested, but all have proved at least par- 

 tially fruitless, so far as our observation goes. The 1 

 best preventive is to keep the tree in a healthy and 

 vigorous condition. But sometimes borers will at- 

 tack them under such circumstances. When they 

 do, examine the trees carefully. In the fall the j 

 lodgment of those hatched from eggs laid during 

 the summer will be indicated by a little string or 

 pile of fine excrements, and the young borer will 

 be found in the sap-wood just under the bark, 

 •which may be removed by the point of a stout 

 knife, and U^e insect destroyed. If the borer has 

 entered the wood, which he will do the second year, 

 take a pliable wire slightly hooked or broomed at 



the end, and draw the intruders out of their holes, 

 or crush them where they are. If borers are in the 

 tree, their chips or droppings, may usually be seen 

 on the ground near the stem or root of the tree. 

 Washing the tree twice each year with strong soap 

 suds, will improve its looks, promote its growth, 

 and, perhaps, have a tendencj' to keep away the 

 borer, especially if applied in July, when the bee- 

 tle deposits her eggs, or about the time the larva 

 hatches, say the last of July or fore part of August. 



4. The care of the tree, suggested above, will 

 keep off moss, scale lice, and other depredators. 

 Very soon after a tree shows signs of weakness and 

 decay, it will be attacked by insects or disease. It 

 is so with our domestic animals. There seems to 

 be a law of nature, always coming in, to help on 

 the decay which has been commenced, and get the 

 invalid out of sight as quickly as possible. 



5. We are not aware that there is any particular 

 time which is better than others for applying salt 

 to the soil. The quantity used per acre, varies 

 widely in different hands. We should recommend 

 q moderate quantity, say from five to fifteen or 

 twenty bushels per acre, and then as a top-dressing 

 rather than to plough under. If mixed with other 

 materials, it would be for the sake of its effects 

 upon them, in correcting their acids or otherwise. 



6. Mulch strawberries soon after the ground has 

 frozen. There is danger of covering them too 

 much. Scatter leaves, straw, hay or light ever- 

 green branches over them, just so you cannot see 

 the plants. If covered with straw or hay, throw a 

 few branches upon it to keep the wind from blow- 

 ing it off'. There is no need of placing the straw 

 under the leaves of the strawberry, as they will 

 work their way through in the spring if not covered 

 too deeply. 



7. We have made no experiments with regard to 

 refrigerators, and can give no information from 

 personal knowledge in the matter. The space left 

 between the inside and outside of the refrigerators 

 in common use are filled with various articles, such 

 as sawdust, powdered charcoal, &c., which seems 

 to show that the space ought to be filled. On the 

 other hand, when a house cellar is lined up, the 

 space between the underpinning and the brick 

 work inside, is left clear, because it is said that the 

 air is a better non-conductor than anything else. 

 Why should not the same reasoning apply to the 

 refrigerator ? 



excellent bvtter. 



I am a constant reader of your valuable paper, 

 in which I have seen much about gilt-edged butter. 

 I take the liberty to send you a sample of mine for 

 you to pass your opinion upon. This butter is 

 made from grass-fed Jersey, Ayrshire and Devon 

 grade cows, and contains no foreign substance except 

 the English dairy salt, purchased from Edward 

 Oakes & Co., 48 Long Wharf, Boston, which I pre- 

 fer to any salt in the market. s. R. 



Wilmington, Mass., Sept. 30, 1811. 



Remarks. — The sample of butter alluded to in 

 the above note was handed to ns by Mr. John 

 Owen, of Wilmington, who in reply to questions 



