7 
J"ottings and Stealings. 
Itadishes are g ood for those who like 
them, but not every one who relishes a 
radish can digest it. We always raise this 
vegetable, because there are some in ev« i ry 
fiamily who crave tills crisp, spicy root, 
and no man should make Ins o wn taste a 
< riterion for others. It pomes, moreover, 
so early in the Spring that almost any fresh 
growth, even an artichoke, is craved. The 
soil foi radishes is rich sand, and if the 
garden does not furnish suckhr soil, it can 
easily be supplied from the highway, the 
finely pulverized dust of which makes the 
best kind of radish-bed. The town author¬ 
ities will not object to tlie reinov d of this 
Sine s ind, for it is poor material for a road, 
making dust in a dry time and mud in a 
wet season. The varieties of radishes are 
many, but two are enough for an ordinary 
family—the red turnip for early and the 
long scarlet for a succession. If any one 
Lkes radishes well enonh to raise them for 
Winter use. the black Spanish and the scar¬ 
let China are the varieties he wants. It 
must be said in praise of radishes that they 
adorn the table, and are specially a lapted 
*’to cheat Winter ot its gloom." as Irving 
puts it. 
—A writer in a French horticultural 
journal relates this suggestive experience: 
• After sunset I place in the centre of my 
orchard an old barrel, the inside of which 
I have previously tarred. At the bottom 
of the barrel I place a lighted lamp. In¬ 
sects of many kinds, attracted by the light, 
make for the lamp, and while circling a- 
round it strike against the sides of the bar¬ 
rel, where, meeting with the tar, their 
wings and legs become so clogged that 
they fall helpless to the bottom. In the 
morning I examine the barrel, and fre¬ 
quently take out of it ten or twelve quarts 
of cockchafers, which I at once destroy.” 
A few pence’ worth of tar employed in this 
way will, without any further trouble, be 
the means of destroying innumerable num¬ 
bers of these insects, whose larvae are a- 
mongst the most destructive pests the gar¬ 
dener or farmer has to contend against. 
—Small fruit growers agree that Rasp¬ 
berries and Blackberries generally do bet¬ 
ter when set in the fall than spring. They 
become rooted and start much earlier and 
consequently make a better growth than 
spring set plants. The only objection to 
1 all setting is, that upon wet clay or hard 
pan land, plants set late in the fall are 
sometimes partially thrown out by the 
frost in winter. This can be remedied by 
drawing the earth well up around them 
I efore winter sets in and removing it in 
spring. Another great advantage in fall 
setting is, that then is so much more time 
to do it. If put off till Spring the rush 
and hurry of work may crowd it out en¬ 
tirely and then all will agree that it were 
better to have attended to it in the Fall. 
This will apply, with equal force, to fruit 
trees and plants of all kinds except straw¬ 
berries'which should be set early in Spring, 
or m August or September at latest. 
—It is well known that rain water is better 
than spring water lor promoting the growth 
of plants; this is from the former contain¬ 
ing ihat which is a necessary ingredient 
m their formation—namely, ammonia, and 
which is abundant in liquid nature. The 
efti acy of this may be soon developed by 
sprinkling one-lialf of a grass plot with 
spring water, in which pounded carbonate 
of ammonia (about one ounce to the gallon) 
has been dissolved; the former will keep it 
alive, hut the latter will give it vigor and 
luxuriance. 
—There is now quite a rage to procure 
and set “potted strawberries.” If you can 
buy them at home at a reasonable rate, it is 
well to do so. But if you have to send a 
distance for them and pay express charges 
it will not pay, Try the experiment of or¬ 
dering good runner or layer plants at once, 
and on receipt of them pot them yourself. 
Place the plants in some vacant frame where 
they can be watered and partially shaded at 
first, and in two or three weeks you will 
have as fine potted plants as you may desire. 
—For killing grass and weeds on gravel 
walks there is nothing better than mod¬ 
erately strong brine. One application is 
mot sufficient, but it must be kept up persist¬ 
ently, and especially after a rain. 
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