THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



89 



hably May, or early June ; as then the healing 

 process commences more promptly. To reno- 

 vate old trees, they should be . cut back during 

 February or March. It should be done, with- 

 out fail, before the swelling of the buds. 



To prevent decay, all large wounds should 

 be covered with a coating of varnish, made un- 

 dissolving gum shellac in alcohol. It should 

 be kept in a wide mouthed bottle, and applied 

 by means of a sponge, or swab, attached to the 

 cork. It should be kept always corked, to pre- 

 vent the evaporation of the alcohol. It dries 

 almost immediately, and is perfectly water 

 proof. One or two applications are sufficient 

 to protect the largest wounds; and- it adheres 

 so closely to the wood as not to be disturbed by 

 the new growth, while grafting wax, or any 

 other similar preparation, would be crowded off 

 in the process of healing. Wounds on healthy 

 trees, if kept well covered with the above var- 

 nish, will usually heal without decay. It should 

 be remembered, however, that a bearing tree 

 cannot be regrafted without the loss of from 

 four to six years of its time, and, possibly, the 

 receiving of a shock from which it may never 

 fully recover, consequently all the motives of 

 facility, economy, and safety, urge attention to 

 the matter while trees are young. L. 



Tomato Culture. 



The cultivation of this vegetable is compar" 

 atively recent in this country. Thirty years 

 ago it was hardly known, except in the gardens 

 of the curious, and among those seafaring peo- 

 ple whose business had led them to the West 

 Indies and to South American ports. It has 

 been much longer established in France and 

 Spain, and was introduced into those countries 

 from their South American possessions, where 

 it originated. Thousands of acres are cultiva- 

 ted to supply the demands of our large cities, 

 and so abundant is the yield of the vines, that 

 in their season they are among the cheapest of 

 vegetables. They are also made into catsup, 

 pickles, sliced and dried for winter use, and 

 lately it has become quite common to seal them 

 up in cans, in which they preserve their flavor 

 admirably, and can be had .fresh and good the 

 year round. 



There are numerous varieties, of which the 

 large, smooth, red is the most popular for mar 

 ket, and the mammoth much the best flavor for 

 family use. This we have raised for several 

 years, and have frequently had them two pounds 

 in. weight. The plant will perpetuate itself in 

 the garden, unless pains are taken to destroy 

 it. But this is a careless method of growing 

 them, and they deteriorate in size and quality, 

 unless the seeds of the best fruit are saved and 

 planted. 



They are commonly forced by planting sin- 

 gle seeds in pots in February, and putting them 

 out the last of May, already in blossom. The 

 pot is then well filled with roots, and as none 



are broken in turning them out, they get along 

 rapidly, and give fruit in July. These potted 

 plants are to be had of the market gardens at 

 this season, and a dozen of them will supply a 

 common family. 



For the main crop for pickling and for pre- 

 serving in cans, seeds sown the first of this 

 month will mature sufficiently early. When 

 the plants are put out about four feet apart 

 they should have frequent hoeings, to facilitate 

 the forming and ripening of the fruit. Most 

 of the blossoms are put out within two feet of 

 the roots, and the shortening-in of the plant 

 forces its energies to fruit bearing. The fruit 

 will be larger under this treatment, and will be 

 some days earlier. 



Some cultivators lay brush down for the vines 

 to run on, and others tie them up upon a lat- 

 tice. We think both these methods retard the 

 ripening. The heat of the earth in August is 

 of great service in maturing this fruit. The 

 early plants should have a southern exposure 

 under a fence or wall. — American Agriculturist. 



New Process for Preserving Timber. 



Among the expedients adopted for the pur- 

 pose of the decay of wood, the following, by 

 the eminent French chemist, Dr. Boucherie, 

 seems worthy of special attention. The fol- 

 lowing is his method of operation : 



After the tree has been felled, a saw-cut is 

 made across the center through about nine- 

 tenths of the section of the tree. The tree is 

 then slightly raised at the center by a lever or 

 wedge, so' as to open the saw-cut a little; a 

 piece of string or cord is placed all round the 

 edge of the saw-cut, and on lowering the tree 

 again, the cut closes upon the string, which 

 thus forms a water-tight joint in a simple and 

 effectual manner. An auger hole is then bored 

 obliquely into the saw-cut from the outside, into 

 which is driven a hollow, wooden plug, to 

 which a flexible tube is fitted. The tube com- 

 municates with a raised cistern, placed at a 

 height of from 30 to 40 feet above the timbers 

 that are to he prepared, and containing a solu- 

 tion of sulphate of copper. When the prepara- 

 tions have been completed, the liquid flows 

 through the tube into the saw-cut in the tree, 

 and forces itself along the log in both direc- 

 tions, driving the sap out at each end. As 

 soon as the liqufd has reached the ends of the 

 log, the process is finished and the log is ready 

 for use. 



If the timber is required of the entire origi- 

 nal length, the cross saw-cut at the center can- 

 not be made, and instead thereof, a cap, con- 

 sisting of a piece of board, f inch or 1 inch 

 thick, is fixe on the end of the log by screws 

 or clamps, and made, by means of a piece of 

 string or cord, to enclose a space at the end of 

 the tree. As the direction of the grain in the 

 board forming the cap is transverse to that of 

 the tree, the liquid cannot pass through the 



