1865.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
81 
" And what is tlie effect of the crop on the 
land ? For I find that is a matter to be taken 
into the account. Some crops run the Land ter- 
rible hard, and if you don't manure high, they'll 
make a desert of it." 
" That's so. Tobacco for instance. I've tried 
it time and agin, and it like to have spiled my 
farm. It took about all the manure I could 
rake and scrape for two acres of tobacco, and 
the rest of the land went dry. It ai'nt so with 
pickles. They are pretty much all water, and 
a good deal of the strength of the manure goes 
over to the next crop. Then if they are well 
attended to, they leave the ground pretty clean. 
You see the weeds are all turned under the last 
of June, and agin, when you cultivate the last 
of July. Then the turnips sown between the 
rows get the start of tlie weeds, and when these 
are pulled in November, you have a pretty clean 
field ; I have allers noticed that grass and almost 
any other crop did well after pickles." 
Esther's apple dish got low about this time 
and Diah's pond of pickle knowledge was iu 
the same condition. I pumped him dry. 
Hookcrtovm, Conn., i Yours to command, 
Feb. lOrA, 1865. J Timothy Bunker Esq. 
Preparing for Field Labors. 
During the month of March, farmers should 
make all necessary preparations for performing 
the labors of the iield, as soon as !he soil has 
become sufficiently dry to be plowed, and the 
season is right. Even on small farms, as well as 
on large ones, there is much preparation to he 
made. Old plows should be put in order, and 
new ones should be purchased ; and it is im- 
portant that a little effort be made to secure, as 
•far as practicable, those plows that are best 
adapted to the kind of plowing to be done. 
Harrow teeth should be sharpened ; rollers, 
cultivators, seed-drills, spades, hand-hoes, and 
all tools and implements should be put in work- 
ing order, before the time arrives for using them. 
Some farmers are always behind-hand, not 
only during seed time, but with their haying 
and harvest ; and one prominent reason for it 
is, their tools and implements are not put in 
order in good time. Our own practice always 
■was, to have every tool and farm implement in 
vorking order several w'eeks previous to the 
time when it was to be used. 
An English Market Farm. 
The London Agricultural Gazette gives an 
account of one of the large farms which supply 
that city with food, from which we condense 
some interesting particulars. The farm is that 
of Mr. W. Adams, at East Ham, and comprises 
about 800 acres, upon which he pays rents, 
taxes, and tithes to the amount of soine $25,000 
annually. Seventy horses are employed, and 
the annual bill for labor exceeds $30,000. These 
expenses, together with the amount paid for 
manures and commissions on sales, make up 
the total annual payments to about .$100,000 a 
year. The above amounts are taken by reckon- 
ing the English pound at $5; in our present 
currency, they would, of course, be more than 
double. The chief crops are cabbages, carrots, 
potatoes, and onions, of which, in the mode of 
culture followed, from six to eight crops are 
taken in four years. During this four years, the 
land gets about 120 tons of manure per acre, 
and at least eight thorough plowhigs. The land 
is kept continually at work, the only "rest" it 
has is being occasionally .allowed to produce a 
crop of grain or peas. Cabbages are the main 
product, and of these sometimes three crops are 
taken from the land during the year. This 
heavy cropping demands heavy manuring, and 
80 tons per acre are not unfrequently used 
during the year. Notwithstanding the enormous 
amounts of produce yielded annually per acre, 
a proportionate amount of fertilizing material 
being added, the land actually improves under 
the treatment. The instance given here, and 
the market gardens near our own large cities, 
should serve as a lesson to those farmers who 
scatter a few small loads of manure each year, 
over a great surface, and then expect large crops. 
A Word about Roses. 
A pleasant writer on rural affairs, says: 
"There are recipes in the cookery books for 
green-pea soup without peas, and turtle soup 
without turtle, but we know of no recipe for a 
garden without roses." The Rose needs no ad- 
vocate, for there is scarcely a person, who, if 
limited to only one plant, would not select the 
Rose. The ettl June Roses are being neglected 
for the Hybrid Perpetuals, Bourbons, and Teas. 
Yet we confess to a liking for the old favorites. 
In their season, they bloom in the greatest pro- 
fusion, and one has roses enough, and to spare. 
Then they are so sweet, and smell as roses 
ought to smell. Still the others have their ad- 
vantages, and we suppose that our old favorites 
must stand aside for the new sorts. "Whatever 
kind of roses are planted, they should have a 
deep, good, and rich soil, moist, but not wet. 
In old gardens, it is nmch better to remove the 
soil to the depth of a foot, and replace it with 
earth from an old pasture, working in some 
well-rotted manure. Cut the plants to two or 
three buds, at planting. The Hybrid Perpetu- 
als comprise some of the finest roses. They are 
not perpetual, however, but bloom profusely in 
June, and give a smaller crop of flowers in 
autnmn. The second blooming may be render- 
ed more abundant by picking off h.alf of the 
buds formed in June, and removing the flowers 
as soon as they fade, in order that the plant 
may not exhaust itself in ripening useless seed. 
Among the standard sorts of this class are. 
Giant des Battailles, General Jaqueminot, Baron 
Prevost, Pius IX, Madame Plantier, etc. This 
class are hardy, but bloom all the better with a 
slight protection. The Bourbons are tender, 
and must be protected during winter, but their 
constant bloom repays the extra trouble. 
Souvenir de Malmaison, Hermosa, Souvenir de 
I'Exposition, and George Peabody, are good 
representatives of these. The China, or Bengal 
Roses, are also free bloomers ; they are adapted 
to pot culture, as well as to the garden, where 
they will bloom all summer, and, after being pot- 
ted and cut back, they will flower in the house. 
Agrippina, Louis Phillippe, and Mrs. Bousan- 
quet, are well known Chinese sorts. The Tea 
Roses are of great beauty, and of most delicate 
perfume, but they are more tender than the 
others, and must be housed in winter. Among 
the choice kinds, are Adam, Safrano, La Pactole. 
Isabella, Caroline, Madam Bravay, etc. The 
Moss Roses are a distinct class, and are general 
favorites. The Climbers should not be forgot- 
ten ; of these is a great variety of Prairie Roses, 
Ayrshire, Boursalt, etc., all good and desirable. 
If but one climbing rose can be had, the Balti- 
more Belle may be selected. In the names 
above given, we have only indicated some old 
and readily obtained sorts. There are many 
others as good, and new ones of great merit are 
yearly added to the list. Whatever roses are 
planted, let them be on their own roots. While 
it may be that many sorts bloom more freely 
when grafted on the Mannetti stock, they are 
only suited to professional gardeners, and people, 
in general, will find them productive of disap- 
pointment. Enough desirable sorts may be had 
on their own roots, without bothering with the 
grafted ones. 
The Time to Cut Cions. 
The question whether cions for grafting 
should be cut early or late has been discussed 
to some extent in the agricultural papers, and 
was the subject of a communication read at a 
recent Fruit-Growers' meeting. The fact is, 
that success depends much more upon their 
proper keeping than upon any particular month 
of cutting. The cutting should not be delayed 
until the tree awakes from its dormant condition, 
as then the bark loses more or less its adhesion 
to the wood, and is apt to slip in working. The 
present is a favorable month for securing grafts, 
and they may be preserved in Siind, soil, or any 
other medium that will prevent them from dry- 
ing. The writer of the letter above referred to 
keeps his in saw-dust from green wood. He 
finds that it contains just the proper amount of 
moisture to preserve the cions in good condition. 
What shall we do for Grafting Wax? 
— » — ■ 
The Crimean war had its influence upon horti- 
culture; the Russian ports being closed, we were 
cut off from the supply of bass matting, and 
were obliged to look elsewhere for t}-ing mate- 
rials. In a similar manner the w'ar of the rebel- 
lion has shut up the sources, from which we 
derived our rosin, and this essential ingredient 
of grafting wax has become so enormously ex- 
pensive, that those who have to do much graft- 
ing, are looking for a substitute. In operating 
on small stocks, a wax of some kind is almost 
indispensable, but on large ones the old fashion- 
ed grafting clay may be employed. This was 
in use centuries before grafting wax was invent- 
ed, and many old gardeners claim that it is 
superior to any of the modern compositions. 
While it is less pleasant to work with, it h.as 
the advantage, that it retains moisture, and the 
cions are not so readily injured by drying, and 
the wood, to which it is applied, is said to heal 
over more readily than when wax is used. To 
make grafting clay or mortar, two parts of clay 
or stiff clayey loam and one part of cow dung, 
free from litter, are thoroughly mixed and beaten 
togetljer, adding some very fine hay, cut short, 
to give toughness to the mixture. The mass is 
to be worked over and tempered in the same 
manner as mortar, adding water if necessary to 
bring it to a proper consistence. The clay 
should be prepared some weeks before it is 
used, and it will be all the better if it is worked 
over several times. The mass may be made into 
a compact heap and covered over to prevent 
drying. If it is disposed to become too dry, a 
cavity may be made in the top of the heap and 
filled with water. When applied in grafting, 
the mass should form a coaling at least an inch 
in thickness and be smoothed off with the hand. 
»-. —m-9-^ —" 
When a man chooses the rewards of virtue, 
he should remember that to resign the pleasures 
of vice is part of his bargain. 
It is much better to sleep in peace on the 
bare ground, than to lie unquiet on a soft bed. 
