98 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Aprtl, 
wet, springy spots and their relations to the slopes 
and to each other, to ridges of clay or gravel beds, 
and be prepared to undertake systematic draining, 
or extend a plan already started, as soon as possible. 
Fences.— See page 107 and the notes last month. 
Grain Fields. — Roll where heaved by frost. Sow 
plaster and ashes, castor pomace, or the like, on 
fields which have suffered by winter, or lack thrift. 
Hedges — .Hops.— See sundry items in "Basket," 
Help. — The organizations for securing for immi- 
grants good places, and for good employers good 
help, are worthy of confidence so far as we know. 
Secure good hands, pay them all they are worth, 
andsecure their confidence' by meriting it. "The 
laborer is worthy of his hire," is the Scripture rule. 
Hogs are the best manure makers on the farm, 
otherwise they could not be raised with profit any- 
where at the East. Secure a good stock of shoats, 
and keep them at work. They need not be fatten- 
ed if this will be a losing business ; hog breeding, 
if conducted with care, is generally profitable. 
Horses. — See that the increased demands upon 
them do not cause harness galls — bring them grad- 
ually to hard work, letting them harden by degrees. 
Manure. — After spreading, plow or harrow in at 
once. It is best buried near the surface. A good 
compost for corn or potatoes is made by mixing 
1 or 2 cwt. of Castor pomace to the load of muck, 
and working it over once in two weeks. Hen ma- 
nure mixed with its weight of muck, moistened 
with chamber ley — allowed to heat — this finely pul- 
verized and mixed "with more earth or muck is an 
excellent guano. Save bones, secure dead animals, 
and treat both as recommended on page 70, last No. 
Meadows and Pastures. — Keep off large and small 
cattle. Mixed grass seeds may be sown on thin 
spots and harrowed or raked in, or left upon the 
surface, — the first preferable. The sweepings of hay 
seed where a mow of hay has been, furnish good 
seed, unless weed seeds abound. Never turn stock 
to pasture till the grass is well grown : the feed is 
hurt for the entire summer. 
Oats.— Sow early — the earlier the better. Get 
seed from a more northern latitude. Prime seed 
ought to weigh 40 to 44 pounds to the bushel. The 
demand for use in the army is and will be great. 
Onions. — When sown on new soil, sow mixed 
with carrot seed ; both crops will mature ; the on- 
ions first. The second and following crops on the 
same land improve. The cultivation of onions for 
seed will often be profitable where the onion mag- 
got is not known or is not very annoying. 
Potatoes. — For the early market, plant Dykeman, 
or some other approved early white sort, in warm, 
dry soil, well enriched, — the earlier the better. 
For main crop, plant early and deep, in mellow 
soil, without any fresh or strong manure. Ashes 
and plaster are excellent fertilizers for potatoes. 
Poultry. — Set all kinds as early as good eggs can 
be obtained. Old butter or lard tubs are excellent 
for nests. The chiaks should be fed bread soaked 
in milk at first ; cooked Indian meal afterward. 
Pure water, green food, and some grain daily, with 
scraps of meat now and then, heaps of pounded 
oyster shells, bones and gravel, and a dusting box 
containing ashes, are essential to profitable keeping 
of hens in close quarters. 
Roads about the Farm. — Work on the cart paths 
and roads is the first that can be done in the spring. 
Good, well-graded paths and level, strong bridges 
over brooks and ditches, save the teams and vehi- 
cles, make work easier, and give a thrifty look. 
Sheep. — See article on page 112, and Basket items. 
Sorghum— Chinese Sugar Cane, and Imphee— Pre- 
pare land as for corn. Secure pure seeds. 
Tobacco.— Prepare seed-bed, spading it deep, in 
rich soil, in a warm place. Lay on a heap of straw 
and brush and burn it off; remove the sticks and 
Take in the ashes. Sow proved seed (see Basket 
item), 1 tablespoonful to a square rod, and roll it 
or " spat " it over with a board. If the weather be 
very dry, water with liquid manure. To encourage 
germination, the seed may be mixed evenly with 3 
or 4 times its bulk of fine soil and kept slightly 
moistened, in a warm place, till tendency to sprout 
is apparent, when it must be sowed. The admix- 
ture of earth secures evener seeding. One square 
rod of seed-bed will set an acre or more. 
Tools. — A good, full set of convenient, sharp, 
light, strong tools is on manj' farms worth at least 
another hand. Send in orders early for the best 
mowers, reapers, hay-forks, etc., or you will not be 
accommodated this year. 
Wheat. — Sow early. See article page 75, last No. 
A good breadth should be put in this spring. 
Orchard and IVwi'sery- 
The seller and planter of trees will both be busy 
this month. The nurseryman should have every 
thing ready to insure dispatch and correctness in 
filling orders. A regard for the reputation of the 
establishment should not permit the sending out of 
any badly grown or unhealthy tree, nor any of 
doubtful identity. It is a great disappointment 
when one orders a selection of trees, to receive oth- 
er varieties in place of those selected, with the ex- 
cuse that they are "just as good." One rarely or- 
ders a second time from a nurseryman who does 
this. Trees that are to go a long distance must 
have their roots packed with a plenty of damp 
moss. — In established orchards but little is to be 
done except to repair damages. Remove broken 
limbs, pare the wounds smooth, and cover with 
grafting wax or shellac varnish. Treat girdled 
trees as directed last month. Several letters say 
that the application of soft soap and sulphur has 
kept off the rabbits. During a clamp time wash 
the trunk with soft soap thinned with water so as 
to apply readily with a brush. 
Almond Trees are about as hardy as the peach usu- 
ally is, and are worth trying as a curiosity at least. 
Budded Trees — If not done last season, cut them 
back to within two inches of the bud, if it has taken. 
Grafting. — Do it according to directions given 
last month. A correspondent says that the best 
way to graft old trees is to head the branches all 
back in the sprir ;, cover the stumps with waxed 
cloth and manure the tree. It will throw out a 
great number of new shoots which are allowed to 
grow the first year. The next season select the 
strongest of these, near the ends of the stump, for 
inserting the grafts, making the choice with a view 
to the future form of the tree, put one graft in 
each of these and remove all the rest. It is claimed 
that this treatment causes a renewed growth of 
root and (hat such trees do much better than 
when the graft is put directly into the old stump. 
For poorly growing and old trees this may do. 
Insects.— Continue to crush the eggs whenever 
they are found glued to the twigs. Remove scale 
by use of soft soap alone or mixed with sulphur or 
lamp oil. If weak young trees have scale, cut them 
back quite severely to induce a vigorous growth. 
See article in "Basket" on a tree protector against 
borers. Alonzo Wilson of Iowa, recommends for 
the same purpose, as well as to protect from sudden 
changes of temperature, a jacket of bark taken from 
a basswood or hickory tree. A section of such bark 
long enough to reach from the limbs of the fruit tree 
to the ground is peeled and put arouud its trunk. 
Layers. — Last year's growth from stools of quince 
and others propagated in this way, may be layered. 
Manure. — It is not too late to apply manure to 
trees with good effect ; not a mound around the 
trunk, but a good coatiug as far as the roots extend. 
Planting. — If the ground for an orchard was not 
prepared last autumn, do it at once. Use only decom- 
posed manure, reserving fresh manure for the sur- 
face. Plow deep and subsoil. The soil for an or- 
chard should be 18 inches to two feet deep, and dry. 
If not dry it should be drained. If freshly broken 
sod is used for planting trees, in making the holes 
for planting, remove the sods so that they will not 
come in contact with the roots. Plant the trees 30 
to 40 feet apart in quincunx order ; that is the trees 
in one row opposite to the intervals of the next. 
Make the holes abundantly large, and in planting 
observe all the precautions given last month. There 
is a growing impression against staking trees, many 
claiming that if headed hack according to the size 
of the roots it is unnecessary. One of our corre- 
spondents uses strong hooked pegs 6awn out of 
\}4 or 2 inch plank ; these are 16 inches to two 
feet long according to the nature of the soil, and 
made with a projecting head. He drives two or 
four of these hooks over the roots to keep the 
tree steady. We have never seen this in use. — 
Cultivate nothing but hoed and manured crops in 
the young orchard. In regard to varieties the only 
safe guide is to find out what has succeeded in the 
vicinity. Lists for particular states are only gen- 
eral guides from which exceptions must very fre- 
quently be made for each neighborhood. ' 
Peach Trees.— These should be set in good dry, 
well-drained soil and elevated or rolling land should 
be selected if possible. In planting stones or in 
getting buds for propagating, be sure to get them 
from healthy trees. This is the only safeguard 
against the yellows. We have the testimony of 
several to the efficacy of a heap of stones around 
the tree in keeping away the borer. Young trees 
killed by the severe cold of last winter, if cut down - 
to the ground, may throw up shoots which will 
serve for budding. Old trees are entirely destroyed 
in many places. Probe out the borers and ap- 
ply some kind of protection as noted in "Basket" 
columns. Ashes invigorate sickly trees and in a 
measure keep off borers. 
Pears. — The orchard culture of this fruit is too 
little appreciated. Standards are preferred for this. 
Seeds, Pits and Nuts of fruit and forest trees and 
shrubs, which have been kept in boxes of earth dur- 
ing winter, may be planted. Nuts will rarely ger- 
minate unless they were placed in earth in autumn. 
Wind-breaks. — A protecting hedge of some fast 
growing tree is of great service, especially in dis- 
tricts where high winds prevail. The soft maple, 
silver poplar, Ailanthus, and white willow are ' 
quick-growing deciduous trees for this purpose. 
The Norway Spruce, White Pine and Arbor Vitse, 
are the most rapidly growing evergreens. 
Kitcliesi Oardcti. 
In selecting a spot for a new garden, a warm, rich 
piece of ground should be chosen, and if at all in- 
clined to be wet, it must be thoroughly under- 
drained. In localities where strong winds prevail, 
there should be some protection upon the wind- 
ward side : this may be afforded by a hedge of Nor- 
way Spruce or other quick-growing evergreen, or 
by a high, close board fence. It is well to have the 
garden close to the house, so that it can have fre- 
quent attention without the neeessity-of traveling 
far to give it. A plenty of manure and deep plow- 
ing or spading are necessary to secure the best re- 
sults. If the directions given last December were 
heeded, the garden will be ready for the spade or 
plow as soon as the soil is dry enough ; but as 
most persons defer their clearing up until spring, 
this in a majority of gardens will be the first work 
to attend to. The remains of last year's crops, 
brush, old stakes, and other rubbish are to be 
brought together in heaps and burned. There is 
nothing gained by working the soil before it has 
become dry and settled, and most seed6 should be 
kept out until it has been warmed up by the sun. 
Asparagus. — Rake off the coarse litter and care- 
fully fork in the fine portions of the manure. Give 
a dressing of salt. Seeds may be sown and new 
beds made by planting, as indicated last month. 
Beans.— Early sorts may be planted, if danger of 
frost is over. Limas may be started on sods in the 
hot-bed, as directed on page 82, last month. 
Bean Poles and Pea Brush. — If a stock has not 
been secured, cut it at once, before the leaves start. 
Beets.— Sow early sorts as directed on page 115. 
Broccoli. — This is in appearance much like cauli- 
flower, but is inferior to it. It generally heads 
freely. Treat in the same way as cauliflower. 
