1870.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
461 
queutly by band-hoeing and baud-weeding. 
The tops of the plants being repeatedly laid 
down aud covered with earth in tha way de- 
scribed, necessitates taking a good deal of soil 
from the alleys between the beds. These be- 
come considerably deepened, and the beds pro- 
portionately raised. Care must be taken that 
the beds are kept flat or a Hi tie depressed in the 
center, in order that the rains shall not wash 
down the sides, and that the water shall all 
soak in and keep the soil moist. 
In Holland the custom prevails of digging 
after the second season. Here the plants are 
raised from root cuttings, and this probably 
gives them a little advantage over a seedling 
crop of the same age. The reason for digging 
at this time is said to be the risk attending win- 
tering. "Where the winters are milder the crop 
is seldom harvested before the third autumn. 
Madder is dug in August or September, while 
the weather still remains hot enough to dry the 
roots and render kiln-drying unnecessary, ex- 
cept as a final preparation for grinding. The 
usual practice is to remove the surface of the 
bed, tops and all, with sharp hoes and shovels, 
cutting about half an inch below the top of the 
ground. Then a large plow with a sharp coul- 
ter is run, beginning at the edge of the bed, as 
deep as possible, turning a furrow outward into 
the path. This furrow is then thoroughly over- 
hauled with forks and rakes, and all the roots 
carefully picked out ; then another furrow is 
plowed and picked over in the same way. The 
roots are at once taken to a stream, pump, or 
hydrant, and washed by hand, being pulled apart 
and all the dirt and grit thoroughly removed. 
When perfectly clean they are laid upon light 
platforms or tables, like apples, for drying, and 
placed in the sun. At nightfall, or when rain 
threatens, these tables are stacked up under a 
temporary cover, or the protection of some 
building. When sufficiently dry they are beaten 
or thrashed so as to deprive them of the fine 
rootlets which are subsequently winnowed out. 
In this condition it is probable the crop might 
be profitably marketed in the country. It is, 
however, usually kiln-dried, ground in a com- 
mon grain-mill, and Ihe powder packed in bar- 
rels or kegs. The dried aud broken roots are 
known in commerce as " lizari ;" when the 
outer bark has been removed by thrashing and 
winnowing, they are said to be stripped, and are 
of a beautiful translucent red color. The pow- 
dered root alone is known in the trade as Mad- 
der. It has a marked bitter taste, and a strong, 
peculiar odor. When packed in barrels it soon 
undergoes a fermentation, which causes the 
mass to become very tough and compact, but 
improves its coloring properties. Madder is 
the most important of the red dye-stuffs, and is 
especially valuable for coloring cotton and for 
calico-printing, on account of the many beauti- 
ful colors it gives when used with different mor- 
dants. The Madder imported amounts to sever- 
al millions of dollars' worth annually. 
New Fruits. — Of the many new apples and 
pears that have been sent us this year, many 
have been decidedly poor, while a few gave 
promise of being worthy of cultivation ; but 
there were none among Ihem superior to varie- 
ties we already have. The prevalent practice 
of naming and figuring every new fruit that 
comos up is crowding our horticultural litera- 
ture with amass of rubbish that is an embarrass- 
ment rather than a benefit. The list, especially 
of apples and pears, is now so large that not. 
another one should be added to it without care- 
ful consideration and consultation with penol- 
ogists of large experience aud sound judgement. 
Rabbits and Mice in Young Orchards. 
It is very disheartening to discover, during or 
at the close of the winter, scores of thrifty young 
apple-and pear trees girdled by vermin. Precau- 
tions might be taken which would prevent it, did 
the owner suppose there was an}- real danger; yet 
it usually happens that after years of exemption 
from harm, mice or rabbits appear — or, not ap- 
pearing, do untold damage unseen. There have 
been many suggestions made, aud plans devised 
to protect trees. Blood sprinkled or painted 
upon the stems near the ground, will keep off 
rabbits. This is easy to obtain about Christmas 
time, and if there is a plenty of it, it may be 
used freely, for no more valuable manure could 
be applied. We should fear, however, lest that 
which is so disagreeable to rabbits would only 
toll the mice, for which it would be choice viands. 
The attacks of rabbits are made above the sur- 
face of the snow, while mice usually operate 
beneath and close to the ground. They often 
eat the bark of the roots, which are partially 
covered by grass and soil. This, however, is 
not very damaging to the tree. We have found 
the best protection we could apply was roofing 
paper, or " felt," which is used as a surface for 
the so-called " gravel " roofs. Tarred sheathing 
paper used for the side-walls of houses, though 
lighter, would answer an equally good purpose. 
The stems of the trees are surrounded by pieces 
of this tarred paper, passed around so as to fit 
snugly and fastened with carpet tacks. The 
best way is to gash the lower edge of the paper 
a few times, and diggingout the soil close to the 
stem,put the paper down below the surface, and 
cover it a little. This will effectually prevent 
mice getting to the trees, and is very quickly 
done. It will prevent harrUj from rabbits also, 
provided the snow does not fall too deep. 
"Ridging-up" the Kitchen Garden. 
In large gardens the plow is almost necessa- 
rily employed as the chief implement of tillage — 
but the spading fork does so much better work 
that it should be used wherever possible, with 
a due regard to cost. In private gardens it 
should always be employed. The benefit the 
frost may work in heavy land is almost always 
underestimated, if we may judge by the general 
neglect of ridging. We see very little of it 
nowadays compared to what would be advan- 
tageous. This is tolerably well done with the 
plow, by turning two furrows, one from each 
side, upon an unplowed strip lying between 
them, of about th; width of one furrow. The 
operation is, how Tor, much better done with 
the fork, and a good spader will work so rapid- 
ly as to astonish one unfamiliar with the work. 
Manure may be spread and forked into the 
ridges as the work goes on, and it may be fol- 
lowed day after day until the ground freezes 
solid. In trench ridging, the manure being 
spread, the spader first thrusts in bis spading 
fork as deep as he can, where the center of the 
ridge is to come, and inverts the ground, then 
he throws two " spils" from one side, then two 
from the other upon it. He takes care not to 
knock the lumps to pieces, but to leave the 
ground as lumpy as possible. 
The frost will do the pulverizing, and be- 
sides, the more the soil is exposed to its action 
the better. He passes from one ridge to the 
next, working in the same way, and thus all the 
ridges are carried along even and parallel. The 
direction they should run is very important. If 
the land is ridged east aud west, the north side 
will remain frozen hard most of the winter, 
while the south side will be frozen and thawed 
almost every clear day. If, however, they go 
north and south, each side will be equally ex- 
posed to the action of the sun and frost, and the 
greatest good gained. Some limes the slope of 
the land is such that if the ridges ran up and 
down the hill, heavy rains would cause the land 
to wash badly. This may be guarded against 
by making cross-ridges at intervals of 20 or 30 
feet, and packing them solid on the lower side. 
If the rainfall meets with any check in a good 
soil, it usually disappears very soon, except when 
the surface is deeply frozen. 
Beautifying the Nooks and Corners. 
A little book has recently appeared in Eng- 
land which lias given us much pleasure. The 
book is called the "Wild Garden," and its au- 
thor is Mr. W. Robinson. The object of the 
author is to show the English people what a 
large number of garden plauts, usually suppos- 
ed to require careful cultivation, will, if planted 
out and neglected, take care of themselves, and 
go on and flourish from year to year — in short, 
become perfectly naturalized. He proposes 
that plants of this hardy nature should be plant- 
ed in such nooks and corners as almost every 
large place presents, and thus form what he calls 
his "wild garden," where instead of weeds the 
space shall be filled with pleasing flowers, grow- 
ing in a natural way. The idea is. a happy one, 
and quite as practicable with us as in England. 
There is scarcely a farmer's wife who does not 
long for a garden, while but few of them are 
able to command the means and lime to keep 
one in proper order. A neglected garden is a 
source of pain rather than pleasure, but if she 
could have a wild garden, where one of its 
merits was its freedom from care, it would allow 
many a one to enjoy flowers who might other- 
wise be deprived of this pleasure. Upon almost 
every place there is a spot exactly adapted to 
a wild garden. If it is so rock} - that it has been 
left untouched, all the better. Hardy bulbs, 
such as snowdrops, tulips, crocuses, hyacinths, 
daffodils, and others, do quite well year after 
year. Almost any of the well known border 
plants that are to be found in old gardens are 
suited to the wild garden; the Columbines, 
Larkspurs, Moss Pink, Primrose, Pa?onies, Per- 
ennial Phloxes, and a host of others. Some of 
our more attractive native plants would of 
course find a place here, and the late-flowering 
Chrysanthemums also. We can readily see 
that a wild garden can be made to the real lover 
of flowers, a source of daily pleasure, from the 
time the first crocus pushes in early spring un- 
til frost has destroyed the last chrysanthemum. 
Breese's Peehless Potato. — Wherever po- 
tatoes did well at all, the Peerless has generally 
given great satisfaction as to yield and quality. 
In our own case they were planted too late, and 
were in common with other late varieties ruined 
by the drouth. It is a large, white, smeolh 
variety, of very handsome shape. Its principal 
fault is that it is disposed to run too large. Mr. 
Quinn reports the crop of a friend to whom he 
gave a potato weighing one-half pound. It was 
cut into fifteen pieces of one eye each, and plant- 
ed in a row 20 feet long. The yield was over 
a bushel and a half, and weighed 102 pounds. 
