44r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
or any other tree, it should be done with a definite 
object. If branches have been broken, or are partly 
decayed ; if the head is so crowded that light and 
air can not enter; if limbs cross and chafe one 
another : if the head is quite one-sided, or if for any 
other reason a removal of a portion of the top will 
be beneficial, then use the saw. 
Time and Means of pruning.—The preferable time 
is when severe weather is over, and before vegeta¬ 
tion has started, which in the Northern States is 
generally the latter part of this, and the first part 
of next month. Use a pruning saw or other nar- 
row-bktded saw, with the teeth set wide ; smooth 
the wounds with a drawing lcuife, and then cover 
them with melted grafting wax, or thick paint. 
Scraping and Washing the old bark is useful; 
sufficient is said about this on page 51 ...If the 
tree produces indifferent fruit then, besides the 
renovation already mentioned, it should be 
Grafted with some good 6ort, but it will be of 
little use to graft an old tree if it is still to be 
starved. With a large tree, it is better to graft only 
about one-third of the head each year, beginning 
with the branches in the center of the tree. The 
time is just as the buds begin to swell. The me¬ 
chanical operation was very plainly described, and 
fully illustrated, in April, last year. It is not prac¬ 
ticable to repeat these elementary matters every 
year, and for this reason we advise every one who 
has an orchard and fruit garden to provide himself 
with a work upon tree culture. The back numbers 
may be procured for 15c. each_In planting new 
orchards, no time should be lost in making the 
Selection of Varieties, if not already done, and in 
ordering the trees. In deciding what to plant, the 
disposition to be made of the fruit is to be regarded. 
If the fruit is to be for family use only, then the 
varieties should comprise those that will give a 
supply from the earliest to the latest. If fruit is 
for market, and to be shipped along distance, then 
but a few sorts known as the best for keeping and 
shipping will be better than many sorts ripening at 
different times. Those whose orchards are near 
cities, find large and showy early fruit more profit¬ 
able than late kinds. In selecting varieties, those 
not familiar with them will do well to consult the 
fruit growers of their vicinity; this advice will be 
of far more value than that of persons at a distance. 
“ Where Shall I Buy? is a question often asked 
Of us, and to which we reply in general terms :— 
Buy only of nurserymen of established reputation— 
the card6 of such are found in our advertising 
columns. A little extra freight, or a few cents in 
the price of a tree, is nothing when compared with 
the risk in purchasing of unknown parties. One 
must wait from 6 to 10 years for his trees to bear, 
and the chance of finding them all wrong at the end 
of this time, is one not to be taken... .In a newly 
settled country one may profitably buy 
Root Grafts, which are sold at some nurseries at 
very low rates. These consist of a part of the root 
of a stock, with the cion inserted and waxed in. 
"The work is done in winter, and the grafted roots 
kept in earth in a cool cellar until spring. A thous¬ 
and of these grafts will pack in a box of moderate 
size. They should be set out in spring as soon as 
the soil can be well prepared, in rows 31 feetapart, 
with the root-grafts 18 to 34 inches apart; the 
grafts, which should have only half an inch or so of 
the top above the surface, are usually set with a 
dibble, and care should be taken to have the soil 
well packed around the root. The ground must be 
kept clean, and the young trees kept to a leading 
stem the first year, in which they will grow from 
one to two feet high. In subsequent years, the 
cultivation should continue, the trees shaped as 
■needed, and with three, or at most four years 
growth, they will be large enough to plant out. 
There need be but few failures, and in localities 
far from nurseries may be made a source of profit. 
Mice and Rabbits are likely to be troublesome in 
localities where snows still fall. Prevent damage as 
suggested last month. 
Insects must be looked after now. The clusters 
of eggs of the Tent Caterpillar may easily be seen 
against the sky in a dull day ; they are to be looked 
for as a ring about s / 4 of an inch wide, near the ends 
of the twigs. Cutting and burning one of these 
destroys about 500 caterpillars_ The Canker Worm 
has unfortunately reached places where it was not 
known a few years ago. The insects come out of 
the ground in early spring—sometimes in February 
in a warm time—ascend the trees to lay their eggs, 
from which will come a devastating brood that will 
take every leaf. They are easily kept down, as the 
female is wingless, and has to climb up the trunk. 
A barrier applied early, and kept in good condition, 
will stop them. There are numerous contrivances ; 
the simplest is a band of stiff paper applied closely 
to the trunk, to which is applied pine tar or prin¬ 
ter’s ink. These must be examined every few days, 
and the application renewed if not sticky, as some¬ 
times dust and the bodies of dead insects make a 
bridge for the living insects to cross upon. 
Fruit Garden, 
The plants in the fruit-garden coming into bear¬ 
ing much sooner, and being watched more closely, 
the need of abundant manuring is more manifest 
here than with the slower growing and longer-lived 
trees of the orchard. What is said of the necessity 
of perfecting plans in advance, and preparing for 
planting under Orchard, applies here. The fruit- 
garden is for what are known as Small Fruits ; if 
trees are admitted they should only be 
Dwarf Fruit Trees. —We were surprised to learn 
from a usually intelligent merchant a few days ago, 
that he supposed dwarf pears were distinct kinds, 
and different from those upon large or standard 
trees. As others may have the same impression,it may 
be well to say that the dwarf pears, apples, etc., are 
made so by grafting or budding the ordinary varie¬ 
ties on a stock that controls and stunts their growth; 
this causes them to come into bearing very young, 
and to be very fruitful in proportion to their size. 
The pear is grafted on a quince stock, to dwarf it, 
the apple, for the same purpose, on a kind of apple 
called the Paradise. There are also dwarfing stocks 
for cherries, plums, etc., and there are two ortliree 
peaches that are natural dwarfs. 
Shall We Plant Dicarf Trees? has long been dis¬ 
cussed by fruit-growers. With the exception of a 
few pears, the conclusion is that for profit they are 
of but little value, but if one wishes to grow many 
varieties on a small space, or for ornament, they 
possess much interest for the amateur. 
Pruning may be done on dwarf trees, and if 
grapes, currants, gooseberries, etc., were not finished 
last fall, they should be pruned on mild days. 
Supports are needed by blackberries, for which 
we use a stake standing about 6 feet out of the 
ground ; some give them a wire trellis, such as we 
use for raspberries, but higher. This kind of a 
support is made by setting a strong stake, or small 
post, at each end of the row; a heavy galvanized 
wire is attached to a post by one end, and the other 
is fastened to a piece of I-incli iron rod, upon which 
a screw thread is cut; this rod passes through the 
other post, a nut put on, by the turning of which 
the wire is tightened ; a washer'is put between the 
nut and the post. The vines are tied to the wire. 
For Grape Trellises in a small vineyard, we prefer 
the upright wires. Posts are set 8 feet apart, a 
strip 21 inches wide nailed on a foot from the 
ground ; a corresponding strip nailed above this at 
the top of the posts ; the distance (andhightof the 
posts also) being governed by the length one chooses 
to grow the canes ; some have it but 3 feet, others 
4 feet, or more. The arms of the vine are fastened 
to the lower strip, and a perpendicular wire, fastened 
by a twist to the lower and upper strip, is placed 
for each shoot. When one wishes to train his vines 
in this manner, this is an excellent trellis. But a 
grape vine is so tractable that it will accommodate 
itself to almost any situation, and supports should 
he made to suit them. Supports of all kinds should 
be made ready in advance, and if to be painted, this 
may be done before hand. 
fSitclien and IIai-kci Garden. 
The difficulties in keeping stored roots, where un¬ 
usually mild weather has prevailed, have been al¬ 
luded to ; this weather must also unfavorably affect 
Plants in Cold-Frames, which have thus far re¬ 
quired the sashes but a few days this season, and 
it has been almost impossible to maintain the 
dormant state so necessary to their proper winter¬ 
ing. Beyond thorough exposure, and shading 
where practicable, during sunny days, the gardener 
can do nothing to counteract the weather. 
Dot-Beds, for starting early plants, will be required 
in the warmer States. The rule is to make the 
bed six weeks before it is usually safe to set plants 
in the open ground; consequently the earlier the 
season opens in any locality, the sooner should this 
preparation be begun. In these Notes for February 
of last year, the matter was treated in full detail. 
Our space now will allow of only a brief summary. 
Cold-Frames and Hot-Beds are the same in all re¬ 
spects, save that the latter is warmed by a layer 
of fermenting manure. In an article on Cauli¬ 
flowers, page 63, Mr. Henderson sufficiently de¬ 
scribes a cold-frame. It is used for keeping cab¬ 
bages, lettuce, and other nearly hardy plants, 
through the winter, and to forward plants in the 
manner referred to in the article. Besides these, 
the frame may be used for sowing seeds, and though 
the results will not be so early as in a hot-bed, some 
weeks may be gained. By exposure to the sun dur¬ 
ing the day, and covering the sashes before the heat 
declines in the afternoon, the interior can be kept 
quite warm. For a hoi-bed 
Sashes, Frame, and Manure are needed. The usual 
size of sash, 3x6 feet, with five rows of 6 x 8 glass, 
set in rabbeted bars, which run lengthwise—there 
being no cross bars, but the glass is lapped about 
I inch, -without putty at the lap. These sashes 
are sold at the factories glazed or unglazed. The 
frame is built in a pit, 2i feet deep, 6 feet wide, and 
of a length to hold the number of sashes. The pit 
is lined with rough boards, nailed to posts, and 
which extend above the surface of the ground a 
foot at the rear and 4 to 6 inches at front. Slats 
should be provided from front to rear where each 
pair of sashes meet, to guide the 6ashes and to hold 
them when pushed part way down. 
The Manure may be all stable manure, or mixed 
with one-half more or less of leaves. It should be 
in a heating state, and put into the pit with coarse 
and fine equally distributed, beating the layers 
down with the fork, and when full, tramp the 
manure down level. Spread on 6 inches of rich soil 
(put under cover last, fall), and place the sashes. 
Sowing the Seeds. —The heat of the bed will at first 
be too violent, and the seeds must not be sown 
until it declines; when the thermometer shows 
about 80° it will be safe to sow the seeds, which 
should be in rows 4 inches apart, and running from 
front to rear.... We prefer 
Sowing Seeds in Boxes, or flats, which are wooden 
trays about 3 inches deep, with bottom and sides 
securely nailed. They are made from soap-boxes 
and similar packages, one of which will make two 
or three. Where these are used, only 3 or 3 inches 
of soil arc placed on the manure, and the boxes, in 
which the seeds are sown, are set upon this. 
Care of the Bed must be thorough, as the neglect 
of a few hours will ruin all. The temperature 
should be kept as near 75° as possible ; this is 
maintained by tilting or pushing down the sash 
when too warm, covering on cool nights ; shading 
on hot days. Besides this care, which will be needed 
each morning and evening, and oftener in sudden 
changes, the plants must be watered, the soil stir¬ 
red between the rows, and be thinned if too thick. 
Window Boxes answer nearly all the purposes of 
a hot-bed for a family garden, in which the number 
of plants required is small. The boxes, or flats, 
already referred to, or other convenient box, will 
answer. A kitchen window is preferable to any 
other, as the air is usually more moist. Sow seeds 
in such window boxes, and when the plants are up, 
turn the boxes every day, to bring the opposite 
side to the light, and keep them from growing to 
one side. When the seedlings get two or thiee 
“ rough ” leaves, those beyond the seed-leaves, they 
should be “ pricked out ” or planted in other similar 
boxes, setting them an inch or more apart, accord¬ 
ing to kind. The young plants may grow in these 
