I8(i6.] 
AMERICAN AORICULTURIST. 
43 
cd to haul timber of all Iduds out of the woods, or 
lu aud Iroiu the saw mill. 
ir«.'i/e of Fitel. — One way iu which I'armei'o often 
waste fuel, is by choppiug the losrs into suitable 
leuuth for the otove, instead of sawing them. The 
waste iu chips, as well a? labor, is considerable. Au- 
other waste comes from allowiui; the wood, :ifter 
iiciui;- prepared fur lueJ. lo lie out «f doors for oe?- 
cral mouths, exposed to all weathers. Wood should 
not uecessarih" be housed while grecu ; but after the 
winds of March aud April have blown through it, 
it should bei^ot under cover. Otherwise, it becomes 
"dozy," aud loses much of its value. If housed 
early, it will remain hard, almost like anthracite 
coal, aud will last very long. 
Winter Wheat. — See that no water stuuds on win- 
ter graiu. During mild and thawy weather, when 
wheat sown in drills has been partly lifted out by 
frost, it will often pay to haul half au inch of dirt 
^^ itb hand hoes OTcr the roots. This will save them 
from farther injury by freezing aud thawing. Usual- 
ly, however, the earliest field work, preceding 
even that •' cleariug up " aud settiug to rights 
which evei-y farm gets after the we:itheris settled, is 
SeaUiii) to Orass a,t(f Glover. — This may often be 
done in February if the ground is bare and the 
frost so far out that there is little dauger of wash- 
ing by heavy rains aud thaws. Procure the best 
seed you can of such grasses as you wish to sow; 
Clover, Timothy, Orchard Grass, Kentucky Blue 
Grass, etc. Obtain samples of the dealers which 
you may carefully examine for weed seeds, and the 
excellence of which may he tested, before buying 
lai'ge quantities. Sow upon winter graiu when the 
ground is stifTeued by frost or a light snow. 
Spriny Grain, — Decide uow what you will sow, 
aud secure the best seed possible. If you sow seed 
of your owu raisiug, select by repeated winnowings 
the very plumiiest and heaviest kernels, aud treat 
that which you buy in the same way, if you can 
aflford to, Commeuce also at once to collect 
.'y'ccd.'i of' all KUtda, concerning which see hiuls iu 
other parts of this number. Duriug the present 
mouth,, also, is the best time to secure 
Good Farm and Garden Sands. — The prospects, 
as we judge, are, that there will be fewer applicants 
than places, even though the war is over and the 
great armies disbanded. 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
As we write, the mercury without is so far be- 
low zero that it seems almost impossible that it 
should get far enough above, this winter, to allow 
of much out-of-door work. Yet as we generally 
have had mild spells in February, it is probable that 
they will occur this year, and if they do, the 
notes iu January will suggest several things that 
nwy he done, which arc unnecessary to repeat here. 
Orchard snid Niiriiery. 
The demand for nursery stock from the Southern 
Slates is already large, aud will rapidly increase. 
Trees, etc, to fill these orders have to be sent off 
as early as possible, as iu many southern localities 
February is the suitable month for planting. In 
packing aud shipping trees at this season, great care 
must be taken to guard them from freezing durin<'- 
the transit. Those who ilud the trees frozen when 
they are received, should bury the roots in earth 
and allow them to thaw gradually. A mild, damp, 
drizzly time should be improved to give 
Old Trees— imd young ones too if they show any 
signs of bark-louse — a washing with some alkaline 
preparation. Soft soap made sufficiently thin to 
work i\ith a whitewash brush is as efficacious as 
more expeusive and troublesome preparations. Go 
over the tree with this, and the rains will complete 
tlie washmg. Unless the tree is lu a very bad con- 
dition, no scraping will be needed after this wash. 
Graftlnij is frequently done too soon. In some 
parts of the South grafts may he set this month ; 
it is best to postpone the operation until the buds 
begin to swell. Those who go about reucving 
orchards by grafting, may say that it makes no dif- 
fereuce how early the work is done, as they wish 
to make their season as long as possible ; but it 
will be found that where cions remain a long time 
exposed to the drying winds of spring, theirchanc- 
es of succeeding are much lessened. A corres- 
pondent takes exceptioiis to our advice to bury 
Cions In the etirih of the cellar, for the reason 
that the earth there is so imin'cgnatcd with nitre 
aud other salts as to injure them. In old cellars 
this objection may exist, but we had in mind such 
a cellar as we had been accustomed to use for the 
purpose, where the soil was very sandy aud the 
difficulty alluded to could not occur. Where there 
is any doubt about the suitableness of the soil for 
this purpose, the cions may be piacked in pure sand 
or in moss ; both these materials should be kept 
slightly dampened. The ends to be attained are 
the preservation of the natural moisture of the 
wood, aud a temperature which is so low that the 
buds will not be excited to swell, aud yet not so 
low as to freeze. The necessity of sending 
Orders to Ifurxenjmen as early as possible, was 
mentioned last month and should be borne in mind. 
Fruit Garden. 
But little can be done beyond seeing that no in- 
jury occurs from heavy stonus, from stray quadru- 
peds and careless bipeds. With many it is the 
custom to take the " shortest'cut " when snow cov- 
ers the ground, and to go over the snow in a 
straight line on foot, or with vehicles, regardless 
what may he under it. The fruit garden should be so 
situated that there is no need of passing through 
it, but if this is not the ease, take measures to keep 
any one from trampling on and injuring the beds. 
Grape Vines which were neglected last fall, may 
he pruned iu a mild spell, as may 
Currants and Gooseberries, — The wood from these 
may be used for cuttings, ;is also that of the 
vine, but it is not as good as that taken in autumn. 
Kitchen Oarden. 
The market gardeners around New York start 
their hot beds iu February, but this is too early by 
a mouth for any but professional gardeners. The 
best time, which will of course vary with the local- 
ity, is about six weeks before the season at which 
plants may be set out with safety. Every thing 
should he made ready in advance. The manner of 
constructing frames, etc., is given on another page. 
Manure iu abundance should be iu readiness. It 
is best to keep it under a shed where it will not be 
exposed to heavy rains. The heap should be fork- 
ed over occasionally to prevent the center from 
becoming dry and overheated; by forking it from 
one pile into another it becomes uniform through- 
out, aud if too dry it can be watered. Use will 
now be found for the 
Leaves^ the gathering of which we have so often 
advised. By using from one-fourth to one-half ,as 
much leaves as manure, there is great saving of 
mauurc, aud a more uniform aud enduring heat to 
the bed. A rich light and rather sandy 
Farth will be needed for the bed, and if this has 
uot been provided for beforehand, take advantage 
of a thaw to secure it, provided it is not too wet to 
move. Then the sash will need coveriug duriug 
cold nights, and perhaps during some cold days 
also. For this purpose nothing is better than 
.Straw Jfats, made large enough to cover a sa.sh. 
They are easily made by stretching a warp of twiue, 
and laying neat haudfuls of straw upon it, buts out 
towards the edges of the mat, and the tops over- 
lapping in the centre, aud lacing each handful in 
place by means of small twine. 
Shntters made of boards fastened together with 
cleats, are also used. In absence of this an old 
carpet, or even loose straw thrown over the glass 
is better than nothing, to prevent loss of heat by 
radiation during the night. 
Cold Frames in which cabbage and other plants 
are wintering, must not be neglected. Air when- 
ever the weather will allow, and fake care that mica 
do not destroy the plants. When the ground is 
thoroughly open, by thawing during a mild time, 
Morse radi.^/i may be dug for use or market, as may 
Parsnips and ,Salsifi/, aud thus make the stores 
in the cellar last longer. 
Onions that have frozen should be kcjH from 
thawing by covering them with hay. A freezing 
does not Injure them, but frequent freezing and 
thawing disposes them to dec;iy. Market garden- 
ers do uot take the trouble to put brush to their 
peas, but in private gardens it uot only contributes 
to neatness, but increases the yield, to give all 
but the very dwarf kinds a support. Lima, and 
other beans also need something to ruu upon. 
Brash and Ihles are best got in winter. Nothing 
looks more slovenly, than these if cut after the 
leaves have developed. See last mouth for hints 
on their preservation. If one has a greenhouse, or 
a warm light room eveu, a few strong roots of 
If/'ubarb may be forced to give early stalks. Take 
up the roots aud place them iu tubs or boxes of 
earth in a warm place, and they will soon throw up 
leaves, at the expense of the roots. Every source of 
Miiniire should now be at work to its fullest 
capacity, as suggested last month. 
•Seeds will of course bo needed, and this mouth 
is the one iu which to attend to the matter. For 
tho.se who are iu doubt what to buy, we have given 
on p.age 01, a list that will aid them, and all inex- 
perienced gardeners should read Mr. Henderson's 
excellent hints on page 50. 
Floivcr Ciar«]cu and T.,a\vii. 
In the more genial climate of the Southern States 
the gardener may proceed with laying out, pnttiug 
down walks, aud edgiug, and planting, but at the 
North, he can ouly think how he will do it when 
the frost leaves the ground. The injury which 
trees and shrubs may receive from heavy falls of 
snow was alluded to last mouth. Much of the 
mischief from frost is done in February, when the 
uoonday sun is quite powerful aud the temperature 
sinks low at night. All but the hardiest of the 
Broad-leaved Evergreens, such as Rhododendrons. 
Kalmias, etc., need a partial protectiou from the 
sun, where they are much exposed. The pruulng of 
Siirubbery may be done, but it should only be 
trusted to some judicious person who knows the 
uature of the plants he is at work upon. Beware 
of those jobbing gardeners who go about doing 
pruning and similar work. They hack away in- 
discriminately and judge of the thoroughness of 
their work by the heap of brush they make. Sonic 
shrubs have their flower buds already formed, 
while others produce their bloom upon the new 
growth of wood, and it is evident that the treat- 
ment which would throw the last named into flow- 
er, would entirely spoil the other for the season. 
In pruning avoid all attempt at formality. Remove 
needless suckers and over crowded growth. Lilacs, 
Forsythia, Laburnums, Japan Quince, Flowering 
Almond and Plum, Viburnums, etc., only require 
judicious thinning. Rhododendrons and Azaleas 
have Large blossom buds, and to remove these 
now would cause the loss of flowers. If such bush- 
es need to be brought into shape, it is better to 
wait until they have flowered. 
l{oneijsuA;klcs and similar climbers will do all the 
better if the excess of wood be thiuned out, leav- 
ing ouly enough to cover the trellis. The Hibiscus or 
Rose of Sharon, commonly but incorrectly called 
Allhwa, where .allowed to have its own way, makes 
a straggling ^veak bush that flowers but poorly. 
It needs the severest kind of pruning, cutting 
back, so as to leave only about three inches of the 
growth of last year. Where annuals are wanted 
early, aud for the half-hardy one=, a hot-lied will hi; 
needed, but it is too soon to start it yet, though 
the preparations suggested under Kitchen Garden 
may be made. Read about starting seeds in boxes 
ou page 63. 
Dahlias aud other roots stored iu the cellar need 
to bo looked t« occasioiiallj-. If they shrivel somo- 
■■vhat from dryness, no hirm is done, but if there i.; 
