AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
4 = 
portance, as well as convenience, that we are war¬ 
ranted in enforcing it upon every cultivator. 
Another repetition, is the importance of ordering 
early, whatever is to be bought and will be needed, 
as soon as the season opens, whether trees, plants, 
seeds, or Implements. It is better to order trees in 
March than in May, but a great deal better to order 
in Jauuary than in March. We have almost no 
spring, It is generally a jump from winter to sum¬ 
mer. In every well-regulated nursery, seed-store, 
or implement factory, orders are entered by the 
date on which they are received, and filled accord¬ 
ingly. If trees are ordered now, they will be among 
the first taken up and sent; they will not start to 
grow in the nursery rows, or heat if long in transit, 
and there are similar advantages to be gained in 
ordering early from dealers in other articles. 
In these suggestions at the beginning of the year, 
we have in mind the fact that whoever starts well 
ahead of the season will be likely to keep ahead of 
It. The market gardeners, when they would speak 
of one who is slack', and always just a little behind 
his work, say “ he lets his pussley get ahead of him.” 
This has a wider application than in the market 
garden, and in leaving these General Notes to give 
some brief special ones in the different departments, 
we wish our friends, in every branch of horticul¬ 
ture, a successful year—and may none of them find 
that their “ pussley ” is getting the better of them. 
©rcliard s&utl Nursery. 
“ Brain Manure.” —The orchardist, quite as much 
as any other tiller of the soil, needs that fundamen¬ 
tal knowledge to which we have referred above, 
and which we have stated is no where so well fur¬ 
nished in any language as in Prof. Johnson’s “ How 
Crops Grow,” and “How Crops Feed.” He 
also needs works which shall instruot him in 
the manipulations of his occupation, and we 
do not know of any one work which is so full 
of just the'information he needs, to aid him start¬ 
ing anew, or to keep at hand for daily reference, as 
“ The Fruit Garden” by Patrick Barry.—We have 
often thought that the title was unfortunate, as it 
hardly gives an idea of the scope of the work. In 
the present subdivision of horticultural pursuits, 
we apply the name “Fruit Garden,” to a ground 
more especially devoted to small fruits, while this 
is by far the most comprehensive work on 
Fruit Culture in General, that we know of. There 
are some French works that compare favorably 
with it in some respects, but we know of no Eng¬ 
lish work that is at all its equal. It begins at the 
beginning, and teaches in the plainest language, 
and with abundant illustrations, every step from 
raising the stock, budding or grafting it, planting 
it in the orchard, caring for and pruning it, to gath¬ 
ering the fruit, and besides this it gives a list, with 
brief descriptions, of the most generally useful va¬ 
rieties of each fruit. While of equal value through¬ 
out, that which distinguishes this work from all 
others, is its minute directions for the details of 
Nursery Practice. —It is no disparagement to other 
establishments, to say that the nursery of Ellwan- 
ger & Barry is the largest in the country, and one 
of the oldest. In his “ Fruit Garden,” while Mr. 
Barry gives the management and principles which 
have been found successful in practice on the large 
6cale, required in a commercial establishment, he 
does not forget the wants of the amateur. One of 
the best features of the work is the freedom with 
which, what some smaller men regard as “ trade 
secrets,” are told, and one feels that nothing is 
withheld, for fear some one else may know as much 
as the author. Next iD general utility we place 
“ The American Fruit Culturist,” by John J. 
Thomas, to which much of what we have said 
about Mr. Barry’s work will apply. Though it is 
not so full in nursery details, its larger descriptive 
list of fruits may make it desirable to those who do 
not care so much for growing the trees, as they do 
for them after, they eorac from the nursery, and 
their future management and culture. The work 
by Doct. John A. Warder, entitled 
“American Pomology,” which has not, unfortunate¬ 
ly, gone beyond apples ; it is rather unfortunate 
also in its title, as the volume is largely devoted to 
the nursery details for which wc commended Mr. 
Barry’s work. It is the only work that we know 
of which gives the rapid, labor-saving management 
of the Western nurseries, and its chapters on gen¬ 
eral operations are the results of the observations 
of one whose opportunities have been abundant, 
and of a long and successful experience. The pe¬ 
culiarly Western varieties of apples, are described 
in full, as are all others in general cultivation. 
Downing's “ Fruits and Fruit Trees of America .”— 
Many will wonder why this was not placed first 
upon the list. As a treatise on pomology, a record 
and descriptive account of all the fruits in cultiva¬ 
tion, it is invaluable, but other works are better 
suited to the general farmer, and the orchardist 
whose operations are limited... .Those who devote 
themselves to the cultivation of some particular 
fruit, should have the works devoted to it. Warder’s 
has been noticed as a special treatise on apples. 
Beach Culture has methods and requirements un¬ 
like those of ordinary orchards, and these are given 
in Fulton’s “ Peach Culturist,” in which the man¬ 
agement of the great peach orchards in Delaware 
and Maryland is given in full detail. 
“ Bear Culture for Profit ” is the title of another 
valuable special work, by P. T. Quinn, who, having 
cultivated pears largely, and made them profitable, 
tells how he did it, and the kinds he grows. 
Orchards Old and Young, in the Northern States, 
need such care as is mentioned in last month’s 
Notes. ...Protect trees, especially young ones, 
from intruders of all kinds.... Trample the snow 
around young trees to prevent mice from working 
at them_Smear the trunks, especially of young- 
trees, with blood, or nib them with bloody flesh, to 
keep off rabbits_Cut away clusters of eggs of the 
Tent Caterpillar, whenever seen near the euds of 
the twigs. These are the chief points, and it is 
necessary to observe them all through the winter. 
_Cions may be cut, labeled, and stored in damp 
saw-dust, or sand_Cart manure to the orchard. 
In the Southern States manure and shallow plow¬ 
ing the orchard may be done. In many localities 
this is the most favorable month for planting, prun¬ 
ing, and other spring work. 
Those who have the volume for last year (1877) 
will find in the Notes for January suggestions about 
varieties that will be of aid to the inexperienced. 
Fruit Garden. 
It may he necessary to say to our new readers 
that under this head we place what are known as 
“ small fruits,” including grapes, and the dwarf 
forms of the larger fruits, such as the amateur 
grows in the garden rather than in the orchard. 
For the cultivator of these, there is a number of 
special works, while most of the 
General Works, mentioned under “ Orchard,” in¬ 
clude the small fruits also. The “ Fruit Garden,” 
by Barry ; “ American Fruit Culturist,” by Thomas, 
and Downing’s “Fruits and Fruit Trees,” all 
treat of small fruits in a satisfactory manner. Of 
general treatises on fruits of this class: 
“ The Small Fruit Culturist,” by A. S. Fuller, is 
the chief and most complete. Its excellence is at¬ 
tested by its large sale, and its translation into his 
own language, by one of the most eminent of 
German pomologists—Dr. Lucas. 
“ Manual of the Culture of Small Fruits ,” by E. P. 
Roe, is a brief compendium, giving the author’s ex¬ 
perience and methods, and is eminently sensible 
and useful. In the way of special treatises, 
Works on the Grape Vine are the most numerous. 
“The Grape Culturist,” by A. S. Fuller; “Mohr 
on the Grape Vine,” Chorlton’s “ Grape Growers 
Guide,” and “My Vineyard at Lakeview,” are the 
leading works. 
Strawberry Culture is included in Fuller’s “ Small 
Fruit Culturist,” and he has besides a special work, 
“ The Hlustrated Strawberry Culturist.” “ Straw¬ 
berry Culture,” by Merrick, is another special and 
useful work, giving New England methods. 
Cranberries belong among the small fruits, but 
their culture can only be profitable in certain locali¬ 
ties, and is so peculiar as to require a special work. 
“ The Cranburry Culturist,” by J. J. White, gives 
every needed detail, and is a model of excellence 
and completeness in the way of a monograph. 
Dwarf Fruits. —Apples, pears, and other fruits, 
which usually grow upon large trees, may be 
dwarfed, and trained in the pyramid or bush form, 
only a few feet high. They give, for their size, 
large crops of the finest fruit, and the amateur, 
whose grounds are small, will find their culture full 
of interest. The works on general fruit culture, 
already mentioned, especially Barry’s “ Fruit Gar¬ 
den ” treats of these, while “ The Miniature Fruit 
Garden,” by Thomas Rivers (England) is especially 
devoted to dwarf trees. 
Work in the F>~uit Garden was sufficiently indi¬ 
cated last month. If the strawberries have not been 
covered, do it at once. Draw manure to where it 
will be wanted. Take advantage of mild spells to 
finish up pruning of grape vines, currants, etc. 
In the Southern States soil may be prepared and 
planting may be done in many localities. 
Kitchen and. Market Garden. 
In no kind of cultivation is success so dependent 
upon the abundant manuring of the soil as here, 
and in no other department does “ Manuring with 
Brains ” tell better. The appearance of 
“ Gardening for Brofit ,” by Peter Henderson, was 
an important event in garden literature. It was the 
first work that told the story of those who raised 
vegetables for profit. It told the whole stony with¬ 
out any mental reservations, and its success and its 
usefulness have been unequalled. While written 
to give the methods followed by market gardeners, 
it is a work that every private gardener should have. 
“ Money in the Garden,” by P. T. Quinn, and 
“ Farm Gardening and Seed Growing,” by F. Brill, 
while they cover similar ground, are in many re¬ 
spects quite unlike “Gardening for. Profit,” and 
both valuable to the cultivator. 
“ Gardening fm- the South,” by W. N. White, has 
its scope indicated in its title, though its usefulness 
is not limited to the Southern States. A number 
of garden crops are often cultivated on the large 
scale, and for those who would grow these, works on 
Special Crops are prepared. Among the promi¬ 
nent works of this kind are, “ Onions, by 17 Practi¬ 
cal Growers; ” “Onion Raising,” by Jas. J. H. 
Gregory also works by Mr. Gregory on Squashes, 
on Cabbages, and on Carrots, and other roots. 
There is a special work on “ Potato Culture,” by 
Compton. These and other small treatises are of 
great value to any who propose to undertake the 
special cultures of which they treat. 
“The Vegetables of America,” by Fearing Burr, is 
an instructive history of the origin and varieties of 
the various vegetables, including the rarer kinds, 
and a valuable work of reference. 
Work in the Garden consists in looking after the 
stored crops, that no injury may come from freez¬ 
ing, or from heating on account of too close cover¬ 
ing_Cold-frames need daily care; give air on all 
but the very coldest days, and when the tempera¬ 
ture is up to 30°, or above, remove the sashes in 
part or entirely_Manure heaps must not over¬ 
heat, nor get so much chilled that fermentation 
will not go on; turn over the pile when too hot, 
and give water if at all dry. 
In the Southern States hot-beds maybe started for 
early vegetables ; early potatoes planted, in light 
soils, and the seeds sown of such hardy vegetables 
as beets, turnips, spinach, peas, and lettuce pro¬ 
vided the soil is in proper condition. 
5’So u J" si and ®• rw13. 
Those who propose to improve their places, with¬ 
out calling in the aid of a landscape gardener, will 
find the elaborate work of Mr. Weidenman, 
“ Beautifying Country Homes,” a most useful 
guide, as it furnishes a great variety of plans, and 
gives practical suggestions of great value-Down- 
ing’s “Landscape Gardening,” is a standard work 
on the principles of the art, and others are given in 
I (he Publisher’s book list. As a general guide for the 
