THE Y SA V. 



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and prefer to include in the class " market-gardeners '' 

 all that portion of the cultivators of the soil to whom the 

 above term is now, in some sections, applied. 

 In the olden time, it was said : 



" Who by the plow would thrive, 

 Must either hold or drive." 



But now, 



" Who by the plow would thrive, 

 Must both well hold and drive." 



Our first need, then, is a light steel plow. In the 

 times of large stumps and costly steel, the heavy cast 

 iron plows may have been a necessity, but now, with 

 our land free from solid obstructions and with cheap 

 steel, we should have a light sharp plow with which one 

 man and one horse can do as much, and do it better^ 

 than two formerly did. It may be said light steel plows 

 will cost more and not last so long, but as men and 

 horses are more costly than plows, and not so easily re- 

 placed, it is true economy to adopt the plan by which 

 the former will last the longer. 



The recent disk cutaway harrows and pulverizers are 

 great improvements on the old drags. The best we 

 have yet tried is the Lubin pulverizer. It leaves the 

 soil in fine condition for seed planting without any 

 further treatment. 



Among the many drills there should be some that are 

 reliable, but we hear much complaint. In cultivators 

 we have some which do well. As we have more fear of 

 waste by leaching than by the evaporation of fertilizers, 

 we apply them on the surface after plowing and during 

 the growth of the crops, and for mixing them with the 

 ground, the pulverizer referred to excels. It will work 

 coarse manure in without clogging, as harrows and cul- 

 tivators mostly do. For clearing the rows of weeds, we 

 prefer the rake to the hoe, but can find nothing on the 

 market to suit. The teeth are too short and do not 

 hang at the proper angle. We made some with hard- 

 wood heads and steel wire teeth four and one-half 

 inches long and one inch apart. We place the heads on 

 the handles so that the teeth stand at right angles to the 

 surface when the back-bone is nearly perpendicular. 

 This enables us to both push and pull the teeth through 

 the soil. We can pulverize the soil better, and work 

 closer and deeper about the roots than with a hoe 

 For working radishes and plants three inches apart, we 

 use a three-toothed rake, which is two inches in width, 

 and we find it best even for rows six inches apart. The 

 length and closeness of the teeth enables us to pull out 

 weeds by the roots. Such rakes might be made en- 

 tirely of steel, and they would work a little better, as 

 there would be no projecting ends ; but so far we have 

 not succeeded in inducing any manufacturer to make 

 them. — R. Brigham, A^. J. 



[A "handy" blacksmith could fashion the rake 

 referred to at a moderate expense. But in these days 

 of machine work for the smith shop, a really handy 

 country metal worker is scarce ! ] 



Front Lawns and Fences. — The many "no fence'' 

 articles in The American Garden suggested to me to 



try the experiment of planting flower seeds and setting 

 out plants in front of the house. We are near the outer 

 edge of the city, cows feed in front of the house, and pass 

 it every day, and plenty of rude boys and girls in the 

 neighborhood would steal the apples off the trees before 

 our very eyes. We made a narrow bed on three sides 

 of the house, and planted zinnias, poppies and mari- 

 golds, and also set out some geraniums and other plants. 

 To our surprise, very few were stolen. The boys tend- 

 ing the cows seemed to take especial pains to keep the 

 cows otf the grass plat, and even the smallest children 

 did not touch them, the flowers appealing to their better 

 nature. And in order to take care of itself and bloom 

 right along, the verbena should have a large bed inside 

 the grass plat. It would be a pleasant change from the 

 inevitable scarlet geraniums. If the bed is slightly pro- 

 tected in the fall, the self-sown seeds come up the next 

 season, and soon make blooming plants. — Sister Gra- 

 cious. 



Handy Things. — My garden is near two tall electric 

 towers which cast light within the fence. I often weed 

 and water after tea by this brilliant light, and can work 

 much more comfortably than in the sunlight. Another 

 handy thing is fifty feet of hose ; this fastened to a pen- 

 stock gives me a grand shower. One of my garden com- 

 forts is a light, strong wagon than can be pulled about 

 among the garden beds. It is loaded with weeds or 

 flower pots, and putting in baskets or a light spade, we 

 pull it into the woods and fields when we go for nice soii. 

 Another handy thing is a slip bed. It is close to the 

 house and is watered every day. It receives bits from 

 bouquets or pieces pulled off here and there, especially 

 from geraniums when in bloom. Another of my handy 

 things is a large tin pail with a spout that will hold the 

 manure tea and send it down to the roots. I also have 

 a rough potting table close to the fence, and several 

 baskets and trowels to seize when walking down the gar- 

 den for the weeds. — Sister Gracious. 



At this season of the year more fire is needed, and 

 vegetables grow more rapidly, a temperature of 50° in 

 the night and 70° in the day being a good one to main- 

 tain in a vegetable house for such things as lettuce, 

 dandelion, spinach, cress and radish. 



Tomato seed for plants for spring setting sow in Feb- 

 ruary, and seeds of cabbage and celery in March. 

 Flats made from soap boxes sawed open, three inches 

 in depth, and filled with rich soil, are capital things in 

 which to sow seeds, as they can be moved out or in 

 doors, or placed where desired. — W. H. Bull. 



Information Wanted. — I wish to obtain direction 

 for the preparation of the different insecticides, and the 

 proper time of application. I think you will confer a 

 great favor on the public if you will give a clue as to 

 where and how the said information can be procured. 

 Is there any recent book or pamphlet on the subject, 

 and where and how can it be had ? 



[Horticulturist's Rule-Book, supplied from this office, 

 will give the desired information, together with much 

 other valuable matter.] 



