peed the aid of hot-beds is Dot required, as for¬ 
merly supposed. We sow our seed iu an open 
bed about the middle of April, “cover lightly,” 
and keep the soil moist until the plants attain 
four or five leaves. Weeds are exterminated, 
and the plants are not allowed to over-crowd 
each other. This insures us thr Ity plants for 
transpl nting in trenches iu July. We set the 
plants six to eight inches apart each way, and 
two ro»s to a trench. In digging hd trench we 
litt the sub-soil nut and let the surface-soil drop 
toth- bottom. The trench is dug from one foot 
to fourteen inches deep, aud half this space filled 
with loose surface-soil. The plants are watered 
plentifully for three days after transplanting, 
thereafter only in periods of dry weather. Ma* 
nureis always ac« eptable to celery, but it should 
be well decayed. Salt, ashes bone dust and 
other fertilizers, are always congeniil to cele*y 
growth. The owners of gardens, either iu sub- 
erbs or country, will find this wholesome vege' 
table a<* easily managed as auy other product of 
the rr arket. The dwarf white varieties are our 
favorites. 
Johu Quill. 
Asparagus Culture. 
Two of the most delicious of all vegetables, 
Celery and Asparagus, though growing every 
ye r in well des rved popularitv, do as yet n t 
, find, with many farmers, th* lull apprecia¬ 
tion that their value really calls for. We think 
every familv ought to have at ’eas* a bid of 
Asparagus, which, when once p epared, 1 s*s h 1 
mod a ifVtime, »nl furnishes year y — <nd with 
out fail—a larve amount of a ou st excellent 
green sauce for the table at a time » hen other 
vegetables cann« t often he procured. We prefer 
the banking up method, blau hiug the shoots as 
we would celery. In principle we fully agree 
with M. L Herault, whose method of Aspara¬ 
gus culture is mentioned in the Rural New 
Yorker of Dec. 18, 1880. He says: Plaut them 
very near the surface of the sod, earth them up 
in Spring, cut moderately.” We use a compost 
of fine saw dust, clean horse manure, and sandy 
loam for banking up, putting tidges from 8 to 
10 inches high over the rows This compost is 
very light and loose, off-ring but little resistance 
to the rapidly growing sprouts. We do not cut 
them with a knife, but, running the finger down 
along the sprout, through this light material, 
break it off at the base. In delicious 
tenderness and large size our asparagus is not 
often surpassed. Do not fail to set out a bed if 
you have none now. 
G liilting-. 
I believe all animal fats and oils to be un¬ 
healthy applications to vegetable growths. 
Therefore I question the advisability of employ¬ 
ing either laid or tallow as an ingredient in 
grafting wax. Indeel, I have remaked that 
wh* n I have formerly use! such wax, the bark 
won d die away from the end of the stump and 
sides of the cleft in quite healthy young w« od— 
an accident 1 hat rarely happens when the wax 
conn ounded with innocent materials. I always 
prtfer k a ing my own grafting vax to buying it 
as I know it to be the t est material, and efter a 
good many years’ experience, £ have settled 
do a n the following c > no isition as c im fining 
all the necessarv qualities of a good grafting 
wax: Take of linseed oil 1 pin% clear rosin 6 
pounds, pure bees wax 1 pound: melt together 
slowly, so as not to burn and stir thoroughly 
toge he-; pour into a pail of cold water, and 
when co<l enough, work while like molasses 
candy, mak^ up into »olls six inches lo »g and 
lay upon a *»e min a cod cellar. It will keep 
there perf-etlv good for many years Wh-m tak 
en out into the yard- n in a mild d >v, it will 
soon be soft enough t) handle easily’. Ifthe 
hand-- a>e ru ; bed with a iitt’e linseed oil oc 
casionally, the wax will not l e troublesome to 
them. 
Grafting on a pleas nt spring day, anl when 
one is not forced o hurry, it i« a very agreable 
occup it ion, and unless the wind chops round in¬ 
to the east, and sttiens up the wax, by no means 
a fatiguing one. A lew sinple rules if properly 
kept in mind will favor succes. Use a line saw 
for cutting the stuui|», and pere the edges 
smooth with a sharp knife before making the 
cleft, which should alwaws he o dique to the 
horizon. If perpend cular the scions will often 
fall out after growing rapidly, for lack of support. 
If the horizontal, the young limbs will split off 
one-half the b&ruch as soon as they begin to 
bear; on upright of course it makes little differ¬ 
ence. Cut the scions from vigorous old limbs, 
where the new wood is short. Nevtr use suckers 
or long tapering shoots, unless absolutely neces¬ 
sary. If there are plenty of scions, use only the 
terminal buds, a« they start most readily. Leave 
only two or three buds above the cleft, as long 
scions often blow out. After shaping the scions 
keepthe thin ends in the mouth so that they shall 
not dry before insertion; cover each graft care- 
ully, end and sides, with wax, before beginning 
on another. Leave no hole for air or'water to 
penetrate, however small, and wind a strip of 
cotton cloth over every part of the wax, that the 
