18039. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
'9 
bran uinsli, morning' and night, then once a day, 
for a few weeks, when it may be discontinued. 
Otherwise they will fall off considerably in flesh. 
Colts should be weaned at Ave or six months old. 
Take them away from their dams, and turn them 
into a small, rich pasture by themselves. Look out 
that no nails are in the fences or gates, that they can 
tear themselves upon, and that the fences are strong. 
Work iii the Horticultural Departments. 
It is not easy, in these sweltering days of mid- 
July, to write out notes for what should be done in 
the more sweltering days of August. The season, 
until the second week in July, has been with us 
unusually wet and cool, but the present days show 
that the Dogs tar has not forgotten us. 
Oi-cliard and l\ursery. 
So much has been said about the marketing of 
fruits, that one would not think it necessary to add 
more. Yet when we go through the markets and 
see the worthless stuff, which might have brought 
good returns if it had been well packed, we must, 
at the risk of repetition, say more about 
Packing. — We go among the commis6ion-men 
and And invoices of peaches, pears, and apples, 
which bring small returns, for the want of proper 
Assorting. — Had half the fruit, — the best of it — 
been sent, it would have brought twice the price. 
In New York, and we presume it is the same in 
other markets, it is difficult to sell a poor article, 
except to the street venders, at the lowest price. 
A large share of the fruit sent had better be fed to 
the pigs at home, for its destination here is the rub- 
bish heap, and the shipper has to pay the expenses. 
Picking and Parking are as important as raising 
good fruit. The time to pick can only be learned 
by experience. The fruit should b3 just in that 
condition in which it will reach the consumer in 
good order. Pick by hand, and pack in crates or 
barrels so firmly that the fruit can sustain no injury 
from the motion during transportation. 
Thinning is still to be attended to. Two blades 
where one grew before, will answer for grass, but 
one fruit where two would have grown is much bet- 
ter for pears, etc. Thin remorselessly ; it will pay. 
Insects arc ever to be fought, and we know, from 
sore experience, how persistent they arc. We 
thin I; we have cleaned the trees, and in a few days 
there are more. The only way we know of is to 
keep at them. If the leaves of the pear trees look 
brown, the " red spider" is probably at them. A 
magnifying glass will show active red specks of 
insects. Syringe copiously with cresylic or whale- 
oil soap, and keep syringing until the red coat 
gives it up. The late web-worm will soon show 
itself. Destroy its nests at their first appearance. 
Budding is to be done on all stocks upon which 
the bark will "run," i. <?., part readily from the 
wood. If buds are not well matured and ready, 
pinch the ends of the shoots to ripen them. 
Weeds are to he gotten rid of iu but one way, — the 
old-fashioned one of killing them. If no crops arc 
cultivated between young trees, then cultivate the 
trees. A light, porous surface is as good as a mulch 
in a dry time. Those who have facilities for 
Mulching, which may be done with bog hay, 
salt hay, straw, or any like material, will find it a 
wonderful help, especially in saving young trees, 
to apply it before the severe drouths come on. 
Fruit Garden. 
The hints given for the orchard will, for the 
greater part, find application in the fruit garden. 
Dwarf trees often overbear. One "good pear is 
worth two poor ones, and with the late varieties it 
is better to thin ne*v than not at all. 
Strawberries. — We have practiced striking in pots 
much to our satisfaction, and propose to continue 
it through this month. It allows one to set his 
plants whenever he pleases, and the plants go on 
growing without knowing that they have been dis- 
turbed. Plants struck even as late as this and care- 
fully turned out will give a fair show of fruit next 
spring. Keep the runners off of established beds, 
unless more plants are wanted. 
Blackberries should be kept pinched back. The 
leading shoot should have been stopped at five 
feet. Now, keep all side shoots back to eighteen 
inches, and the reward will be seen iu next year's 
crop. Remove the old canes as soon as the fruit 
is off, and hoc off all undesired suckers. So with 
Raspberries, which have the same general way of 
growth, except the now popular varieties of 
Black-caps, upon the treatment of which an arti- 
cle will be found on page 299. 
Grapes. — Tie up the new growth ; look out for 
the large caterpillars and beetles, and pick them 
off. There is no charmed wash or patent solution 
half so good as a quick eye aud a ready hand. Keep 
pinching the laterals, as heretofore directed. If 
mildew appears, use sulphur freely. For the rot 
which attacks the fruit, we know of uo remedy. 
•«. i tclien Garden. 
Work now begins to tell. The weeds, which it 
seemed almost impossible to conquer during the 
rainy spring, now die after being uprooted, instead 
of saucily putting up their heads the next day, as 
if in gratitude for being transplanted by the hoeing. 
Beans. — It is not too late to plant for pickling or 
for salting. Tiie Refugee is considered best. 
Cabbages.— Keep them growing. No plant more 
gratefully repays thorough culture than the cab- 
bage. Slugs are disposed of by slaked lime. In 
the Southern States plants may still be set. 
Carrots should be cultivated until the tops be- 
come too large to allow of working between the 
rows. The late sowings may still need thinning. 
Celery. — Keep well cultivated. Plants may still 
be put out aud make a late crop. 
Corn. — Select ears for seed before the general 
plucking, reserving the earliest and best. 
Cucumbers. — Save the earliest and best shaped 
for seed. Pick every day for small pickles. 
Egg Plants. — These tropical fellows must be 
pushed this hot weather. Give liquid manure 
when the soil is not too dry. When the fruit is 
large enough to rest upon the ground, put a wisp 
of straw under it; otherwise it may rot. 
Endive is to be treated like lettuce until the 
plants get about a foot iu diameter, when they must 
be blanched to be eatable. Darkness is necessary, 
and this is most readily obtained by laying a 
board over the plants when they are dry. 
Melons. — Thin out all that are not likely to ripen. 
Be careful about saving seed if several varieties 
have been grown near each other. 
Onions are ripe when the tops of most of the 
plants fall down. Pull them and let them dry 
thoroughly before storing, aud then spread thinly. 
Onion "sets" are to be stored in the same manner. 
Radishes. — Those who like the white and black 
winter radishes may sow them. We think a raw 
turnip preferable. To our notion the only decent 
winter radish is the Chinese Rose-colored. Sow 
this month or next, according to locality. 
Spinach. — Sow for a crop to cut late in fall, but 
do not put in the winter crop until next month. 
Squashes. — As soon as they spread so as to pre- 
vent cultivation, let them take root at the joints. 
Hand-picking is the only remedy for squash-bugs. 
Sweet Potatoes should now be making a rapid 
growth. Keep the ridges clear of weeda, and do 
not, at the north at least, let the vines take root. 
Tomatoes. — The large green " worm " will need 
attention. It is readily discovered by its drop- 
pings. Where these are seen, find the worm and 
kill it. It is a voracious thing, aud spares neither 
leaf, stem, nor green fruit. Save seed from the 
vine that gives the earliest aud best formed fruit. 
The great number of tomatoes with names shows 
what a " flexible" plant it is. By this we mean that 
a little care iu selection will allow one to produce 
a "variety." Wc have over twenty of the newer 
sorts on trial, aud look for interesting results. 
Turnips. — In another column we give an article 
on these. Lime, or a mixture of plaster and ashes, 
is as good as anything to keep off insects. 
Flower Garden and I.awn. 
Lawns must be mowed frequently, and the ma- 
chine should be in operation once a week. This 
frequent mowing will allow the clippings to be 
left on the ground as a mulch, and as they decay, 
as a manure, and thus save much top-dressing. 
Edgings and Margins. — Where these beds cut in 
the lawn keep them well defined. A sharp spade 
will do for the larger beds, but for small ones a 
turfing knife is needed. This is like an old-fashiou- 
ed chopping-knife, put on a long handle. 
"Foliage Plants." — We despise the term, but are 
obliged to accept it as the one used to designate 
those plants grown for the beauty of their foliage. 
Nothing can be finer than a bed of the old Coleus 
Verscluifeltii, seen in the full sunlight against the 
green of a well-kept lawn. Yet the Colens and 
plants of its kind need the knife to keep them in 
shape. Let the bed be a rounded mass of foliage 
from circumference to center, and do not be afraid 
to cut out straggling shoots. 
Dahlias, should it be a dry time, will need water. 
These " bloom but to decay," and are at their per- 
fection just upon the edge of the frosts. Keep 
tied up, and pick off Insects. 
Roses. — See article on layering on page 299. The 
everblooming sorts should be cut back as fast as 
the flowers drop. Cut each flowering stem back 
to a good bud, which will soon push and flower. 
Gladioluses. — We use this plural intentionally, so 
don't write and ask if it should not have been 
gladioli, because we are writing English, and not 
Latin. Keep them tied up. If disposed to experi- 
ment with seedlings, make cross fertilizations. 
Lilies will need stakes when in flower. If seeds 
are not wanted, cut away the whole flower as soon 
as it fades. A caterpillar will be troublesome this 
month. It works upon the under side of the leaves. 
Put the thumb on one side of the leaf and the lin- 
ger on the other, aud squeeze. That caterpillar 
will be of no more trouble. 
Seeds. — Gather flower seeds just as they are about 
to ripen. See note on page 299. 
Green-house and Window Plants. 
There is little to add to last mouth's directions. 
They may be briefly sunvmed up thus : Repair the 
houses aud heating apparatus, lay in potting soil, 
procure pots, sec that the stock out of doors is kept 
iu good condition as to water and iusects. New 
wood of most things will propagate readily now. 
See article on page 257, July, on propagating 
geraniums and soft-wooded stuff. 
Smutty Corn. — C. G. Perkins, Monona Co., 
Iowa, proposes the following : ''After reading the arti- 
cle iu the July Agriculturist about Smutty Corn, I thought 
I would give you my experience in the matter. First I 
would ask a question of those who claim to have lost 
cattle by eating smut. Did not those cattle eat corn fod- 
der and smut when dry, and did they not drink a great 
deal of water after eating it? I wish they would be par- 
ticular in looking into the matter, as I believe the cause 
of death to he in drinking after eating the corn, and will 
give my reasous. Previous to I860, our cattle were wa- 
tered after coming out of the field, and wc lost some 
every year. For the last three years we have watered 
them before turning them into the field, and the result 
lias been we have not lost a single head, while others in 
the county, who did not water before turning into the 
field, lost many cattle. Five of us in this settlement 
have over five hundred head of cattle, and last year raised 
about two hundred and fifty acres of corn, and had a 
great deal of smut among it, and our cattle fed ill the 
fields from December 1st, after the corn was husked, un- 
til it was eat up, and we lost none. Wc water our cattle 
before turning into the field, and do not give them any 
more water until the next morning, i hope to hear the 
experiences of others in this matter, as it is a question 
of vital importance to stock raisers." 
