1866.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
JField Work. — The faruici' shouKl begin each 
d.iy with a clear notion of about wliat, aud how 
much each man and team will do if it remains clear, 
or if rain comes. He must be his own judge 
of when rain is severe enough to stop worli, and 
when men and teams will receive no harm. In 
Mauling out manure, it is best to spread and 
plow it under immediately, though a day or two of 
fair weather will not injure it. Rain, however, 
washes it, and the crop will show where the heaps 
stood. There is danger, too, th.at rain may render 
the soil for several d.ays unlit for 
Plomng, which should only bo done when the 
ground will crumble, and after the water is so much 
out of it that the furrow slices will not drj' and 
bake into hard clods. In breaking up grass laud 
turn an absolutely flat furrow. Increase the depth 
of the soil just as fast as it is safe to do so when 
plowing for .all hoed crops, and on dry or well 
dr.ained laud, the subsoil jilow will be found to pay 
well. Get in 
Spring grain of all kinds as early .as the ground 
can be well worked. See several items on this 
subject in the present number, aud that for March. 
Blax should be sowed in very well-prepared soil, 
as soon as it is thorouglily warm. Our readers who 
are interested in the culture of 
Onions, or of I<l<ix, Hops or Tobacco, can not do 
better th.an to consult the pamphlets on these 
crops, which we publish. Wa have received the 
thanks of hundreds for having furnished so much 
information in so convenient and cheap a form. 
See Book list on another page. 
Carrots and Parsnips may be sown as soon as the 
ground is thoroughly worked and warm. Barely 
cover the seed and they will come up much sooner 
than otherwise, and are then out of danger. So 
far as our erperienee goes, mild frosts no not hurt 
parsnips ; theygerminate very slowly, and so if wet 
weather comes, (.and such is almost sure to come 
ia May,) the seed rots. We prefer sowing quite 
early if the land is dry and warm. Put carrots on 
lighter soil than parsnips, if you can choose, and 
for both crops work the laud deeply and thor- 
oughly, and manure it well. 
JFbtatocs. — Plow deep. Manure with a good com- 
post, .and with leached ashes in the drill, or use any 
m.anure not in a condition of rottenness. Plant 
early .and i or 5 inches deep, usiug large seed cut 
in quarters. Plant no small potatoes of any kind, 
but if you wish to make the seed go as far as pos- 
sible, cut to single eyes, plant not quite so deep, 
and give better care. 
Pastures.— Keep every hoof, large or small, oflT 
them ; pick off the stones, cut the brush, clear up the 
fence rows, reset the fences if necessary, and sow 
gr.ass seed, ashes and plaster on thin spots. Treat 
in the same way the 
Mowing lands, conducting upon them the road 
wash. Apply any s.aline manure at hand, as ashes, 
plaster, sulphate of ammonia, crude saltpetre, gu- 
ano, either in flue composts or sowed on, or if 
soluble, by the liquid manure distributor. 
Orcliard asid IViirsery. 
Trees will have a hard time of it this month. 
Kudely taken out of the ground, carelessly handled 
in transportation, dried up by being long in 
transit, stuck into the holes with only enough care 
to keep them right end up, aud then left to begin 
life anew, their treatment is often such as to excite 
pity in those who care for living things. Trees 
have life, and a great deal of it, or they would never 
survive much of thorough usage they get. If they 
only had consciousness, with what grim satisfaction 
might they in after years listen to the grumbling at 
their unfruitfulness. Nurserymen have blame 
enough that they deserve, but all trouble with trees 
is not chargeable to them. Thoy must do all the 
mischief th.at the tree can get at their hands in a 
very short time, while the purchaser can spoil the 
tree at his leisure. AYhen trees are received from 
the nursery, if not ready to proceed immediately to 
planting, open a trench in a convenient place, un- 
pack the trees and heel them in, covering the roots 
123 
well with moist earth. If, as sometimes happens, 
the tops are dry and the bark shriveled, bury the 
whole tree for several days. In planting, have the 
holes large enough, trim A\ mutilated roots with a 
cut sloping from below up, and shorten the branch- 
es as directed last month. Fill in with good sur- 
face earth, but do not put manure around the roots. 
Wo have been looking over the letters relating to 
orchards, that have lately accumulated, .and find 
many complaints which may all be summed up in 
"What ails my apple trees?" As Kir as we can 
judge from the description of the diseases, wo 
should s.ay, wet feet and starvation— one or both. 
There are but few of these unfruitful orchards, 
or those in which lack of size aud fairness in the 
fruit is complained of, that would not be greatly 
helped by draiuing or manuring, or both. Put 
down large tile or other drains between the rows ; 
and this may ho done without difficulty in orchards 
where the trees are large. Give a good dressing of 
composted manure .and plow it in, and if the trees 
are not very large, some hoed crop, such as beans, 
may be planted, not for the crop, but just as .an in- 
ducement to use the hoe. Lime often has a strik- 
ingly beneficial effect on an exhausted orchard. 
A very old and neglected orchard, unless the 
trees seem to htivo a good deal of promise in them, 
will not pay for much trouble and expense. It 
is better to set out a new orchard in a good place. 
Orafiing is oftener done too early than too late, 
.and much of the lack of success is due to setting 
the cions long before growth begins, .and thus ex- 
posing them to the drying influence of the winds. 
Cions put in just as the buds on the stock are 
ready to burst, are more likely to take than those 
worked in JIarch. In late grafting, more care is 
required, as then the bark parts readily from the 
wood, and bad wounds may bo made in carelessly 
sawing the limbs. The stock should be more ad- 
vanced in growth than the cion, though some claim 
equal success with cions cut at the time of insert- 
ing them. Any one who can whittle, can graft, and 
every farmer's boy should know how to do both. 
The operation was fully described and figured in 
Marcli, ISCi, and wo have not space to repeat. 
Those who wish to raise their own 
Slocks for budding or grafting, should get the 
seeds in earlj'. The pits of peaches and other stone 
fruits that have been kept buried during winter, 
start very early in spring ; and if they are found to 
have germinated, will require careful handling. It 
is the practice with some to allow the seeds to 
germinate, and then to pinch off the young root 
before planting, with a view to forming a more 
branching root. Apple and pear seeds need to bo 
sown in a finely worked soil, enriched with well- 
rotted manure, ashes aud lime. 
Quinces are most welcome as a fruit, but they are 
seldom much thought of or cared for .as a tree. 
The trees h.ave a slow growth when young, but, 
when they come into fruit, are profitable. The 
young tree should be trained to a stake until it gets 
strong, aud pruned so as to form a regular head, at 
about four feet from the ground. They may be 
grown as pyramids, with fruit branches near the 
base, but the leader must be kept tied up to a 
stake. The Orange or Apple variety is the ono 
most cultivated. Rca's seedling is highly spoken 
of, but it seems to be scarce. We are sometimes 
asked why we say no more about 
Plums.— 1[ one will give the time to fight the 
curculio aud black knot, he may bo tolerably sure 
of success, but without this, all planting of plum 
trees is useless. A selection of varieties was given 
in the February Agriculturist, page 63. 
Peaches succeed best iu hilly districts, and upon 
land not before occupied by a peach orchard. L.and, 
suitable for a good grain crop, will do for peaches. 
Eighteen to twenty feet is the usual distance. The 
orchard is cultivated to potatoes or buckwheat be- 
tween the rows. On a subsequent page a novel 
method is given for treating a peach orchard. 
Another plan recommended for their treatment is, 
to cut the young trees back at pl.anting to IS inches, 
and thus induce them to gmvi in a bush form. The 
varieties mostly grown for the Eastern markets 
are: -Troth's Early, Ilouest John, Crawford's' 
Early, and Old Mixuti. Hale's Early receives com- 
mendation everywhere, as the earliest good peach 
Crawford's Late, Smock, Heath, Ward's Late, Mor- 
ns White, and other late sorts are grown. 
Fruit Garden. 
The suggestions given last month as to prepara- 
tion of tho soil and planting, will for the most part 
be .appropriate now. Many of the hints given un- 
der Orchard .and Nursery, are equally .applicable to 
tho Fruit G.arden. Planting of all kinds should be 
done as early as the ground can be worked, or tho 
plants procured. 
Dwarf Trees are the only ones admissible in the 
fruit garden, and these can be kept .as small and 
compact as is desired, by root pruning, or if space 
will allow, they m.ay develop into medium sized 
trees. Ono great trouble, especially upon pears, is 
Insects on the Park— The scale aud woolly Aphis 
if not checked in time, will often completely cover 
the bark. The first is a little brown scale, shaped 
somewhat like a miniature oyster shell, and the 
other is a little louse, with a copious covering of 
white wool which m.akes him quite conspicuous. 
Soft so.ap, m.ade sufficiently thin, and .applied all 
over the limbs with a stiff brush, rubbing moder- 
ately hard the while, will usually do for them. A 
friend of ours is using petroleum fur this purpose, 
but we await the results before recommending it. 
Wo h.avo an article elsewhere on cultiv.ating the 
Mg.—A. few trees are worth growing as cui-iosi- 
ties, if nothing more. In a sheltered situation with 
proper care, they will usually bear fruit. 
Almonds are also interosting, and it is well to 
have a tree for tho novelty of the thing. They will 
flourish wherever the peach will. Nothing makes 
a finer show than a 
Quince Tree, laden with its golden fruit, and it is 
also handsome when in flower. See hints for train- 
ing, under Orchard and Nursery. 
The Currant is, so to speak, ono of the most flex- 
ible of fruits. Neglect will bring small fruit from 
large varieties, and pruning .and manuring will in- 
duce the small sorts to swell to a respectable size 
with gratitude for the .attention. The moral of 
which is, manure the currant bushes. 
Gooseberries shonld not bo overlooked. The 
Houghton and American Seedling are better than 
no gooseberries. We do not see why Dowuing's 
Seedling is so generally overlooked. It is a mirch 
better fruit than either of the others. Why don't 
some ono get up a gooseberry as hardy as the 
Houghton .and as good as the Whitesmith ? 
Raspberries and Blackberries have their cultiva- 
tion sufficiently treated of on p.age li.5, and with 
other things have quite crowded out our notes on 
Ora]jes. — Varieties have been so fully discussed 
during the past year, that but little can be said 
about them until tho growing season. Of course 
many thous.ands of vines will bo planted, many 
without proper cai-e will fail, and the nurserymen 
the variety, or the season, will be blamed. Unless 
the soil is naturally drained, drain it. Work tho 
soil well to the depth of IS or 20 inches. Use no 
other than vegetable manure at planting. Mako 
the hole large, put in fine surface soil so as to form 
a fl.at mound. Set a stake 6 or 8 feet high, place tho 
vine beside it, and spread its roots evenly in all di- 
rections. Tho point from which the roots start, 
should be about 4 inches below the surface. Cover 
the roots carefully with fine soil, fill up tho hole, 
and press the earth moderately with tho foot. 
Allow but ono cane to grow the first year, aud that 
should be from the strongest shoot that pushes. 
Any vines remaining covered, should bo lifted, aud 
tied to the trelUs. 
Strawberries, as soon as winter is well over, are to 
he uncovered, parting the straw so as to expose the 
plants, but leave the grouud covered. New beds 
are to bo planted as early as possible. For the gar- 
den, beds 4 feet wide, with 2 feet walks between 
them, answer the best. Set the plants in three 
