1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
185 
preserving the health of farm animals. Pigs 
profit by a run at grass. When the trees in 
the orchard are large enough it should be 
seeded to clover as a pasture for the pigs. 
This will afford them good grazing, and at the 
same time they will destroy many of the 
orchard vermin. Young pigs will need plen¬ 
ty of good milk, which should be given them 
separate from the older ones. Ewes from 
which lambs have been weaned may need 
to have the milk removed from their udders. 
If to be fattened they should be fed liberally. 
When the sheep are shorn, the ticks gather 
on the lambs, and by dipping them these 
pests may be destroyed. A number of old 
and useful Sheep Dips are advertised, or the 
home-made tobacco dip may be used... .Young 
chickens will now be coming forward. Those 
of good breeds hatched this month will begin 
to lay in the fall, and with care will continue 
through the winter. The chicken coops need 
to be moved frequently. There is no better 
place for young chicks to forage than the 
vegetable garden ; they will destroy many 
insects. They should have an abundance of 
fresh water and the coop be set in a dry place. 
.... The crows are the farmer’s friend, but 
during May they are positively annoying to 
many from their love of young com. See 
treatment of them on page 198.... At odd 
times, during rainy days, etc., it will be 
profitable to look over the machinery and 
utensils used in haying and haiwesting, and 
see what needs to be bought or mended, and 
thus be in readiness when the clover is to be 
cut or when the wheat is ripe for the harvest. 
Notes'on Orchard and Garden Work. 
The custom prevails over a large part of 
the country of making the first of May the 
“moving day” of the year, and on this ac¬ 
count there are many who only come into 
possession of their garden and other grounds 
with the beginning of this month. It is late 
for many operations, but better than not at 
all, especially if one has made his plans and 
knows just what is to be done with no loss 
of time in getting ready to begin. In the 
Northern States planting in the orchard or 
garden may be done, late as it is, provided the 
trees, etc., have been procured and carefully 
heeled-in, and are ready to plant at once. 
There is no serious loss in the kitchen gar¬ 
den, save the lack of the earliest vegetables. 
Therefore those who from necessity must be¬ 
gin the operations in orchard and garden on 
the first of May should not be discouraged, 
but go to work with a will and make the most 
of what is for many things the better part 
of the growing season which still remains. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Grafting is an operation that had better be 
done too late than too early. The best time 
is when the buds on the stock are swelling, 
and if necessary may be continued until the 
trees are in full bloom. At this season the 
bark slips readily, and much care will be re¬ 
quired when sawing off a limb, not to make 
a bad wound by peeling down. This can be 
prevented in great part by cutting through 
the bark with a strong knife all round the 
limb where the saw is to go. Buds should be 
left upon the stock until the union of the 
graft is insured, which will be known by the 
buds of the graft starting into growth. After 
this rub off the buds upon the stock. The 
growth of the graft will need some at¬ 
tention ; should but a single bud start, and 
push upward very rapidly, a long slender 
shoot will be produced, easily blown about 
by the wind and thereby loosened from the 
stock. All such will require checking by 
pinching off the top so that lateral branches 
may be formed. There seems to be a strong 
desire to give the trees the second place on 
the land, and put some other crop first. Those 
who do not care enough for an orchard to 
devote the land to it, should not plant one. 
Young trees, not yet in bearing, are not in¬ 
jured by having some hoed crop between 
them. But when the trees begin to bear a 
fair crop they deserve and should have all 
the soil. A clover crop to be fed off by pigs 
is the best thing for the orchard and for the 
pigs. This will enrich the soil, as the only 
thing removed is in the shape of flesh, while 
a large amount of vegetable matter in clover 
roots and manure has accumulated. 
• Insects .—An increase of insect pests will 
come with the warmer growing weather. 
The eggs of the Tent Caterpillar will be 
among the first to produce “ worms,” which, 
if left to themselves, will soon begin their 
ravages upon the foliage. Then - coming is 
easily recognized by their ‘ ‘ tents ” and these 
should be destroyed at once. The best time 
to take them is in early morning before they 
have left their nests or “tents,” when the 
whole family may be removed and crushed. 
The bare hand is the best for all within 
reach; for those upon high branches use a pole 
with a swab dipped in ley or petroleum. If a 
newly set tree is found infested with Oyster- 
shell Bark Lice, it is the shortest way to pull 
it up and burn it. An old tree with this pest 
should be painted over with some non-drying 
oil, as lard oil; crude petroleum has been 
used with some success. The presence of the 
Borers is known by the sawdust which they 
make. The best cure is a knife and a wire or 
whalebone probe. Cut only enough to allow 
the entrance of the probe ; never girdle the 
tree as we have seen some do who were hunt¬ 
ing for the borers. The Curculio of the plum 
stings the fruit when it is quite small. Jar 
the trees when the fruit is set in the early 
morning, and so long as insects are caught. 
The sluggish beetles are caught upon sheets 
spread beneath the trees or arranged with 
poles to be held by two persons ; put the in¬ 
sects into the fire or otherwise destroy them. 
Plant Lice, that sometimes crowd upon the 
growing tips of cherry and other fruit trees, 
can be removed by syringing them with to¬ 
bacco water; those within reach may be 
bent down, and dipped in the same liquid. 
The Fruit <Sar«len. 
It is best to set blackberry and raspberry 
plants in early spring, but it may still be 
done. Some means of holding up the grow¬ 
ing canes should be provided, either as single 
stakes or trellises. The canes produced last 
year bear the fruit, and the new ones are for 
fruit next year. All suckers at a distance 
from the rows, unless new plants are desired, 
should be considered as weeds and cut away. 
The ground about the currants and gooseber¬ 
ries should be cultivated thoroughly and 
given a good mulch. The “worms” must 
be watched for, and upon their first appear¬ 
ance apply White Hellebore, a tablespoonful 
to a pailful of water. The strawberry bed 
should be kept free from weeds, and the soil 
loose and mellow. Before hot weather apply 
a mulch, which will keep the fruit from the 
ground and preserve the soil in a moist state. 
The “White Grub” sometimes makes sad 
work with the strawberry bed. A wilted 
plant is an indication tha^ its roots have been 
eaten off by the pest. Remove the plant and 
search for the grub before it gets to another 
plant. Grape vines that have been kept 
dormant in cool cellars may still be planted. 
The cost of a few vines is but a trifle and 
the returns are great. All persons who have 
ground enough for a garden, however small, 
have room for at least one grape vine. Newly 
planted vines should be allowed to grow but 
a single shoot this year. Tie it to a support. 
The fruit bearing shoots for this year should 
have their further growth in length pre¬ 
vented by pinching off the end of the shoot * 
at two or three leaves above the uppermost 
cluster. The earlier this work is done the 
better. The baskets and crates should be put 
in readiness for the fruit. Use the forms 
established by custom of the market. If 
square baskets are familiar to the consum¬ 
ers, round ones will be at a disadvantage. 
Kitchen iiiid Market Garden. 
Many can not begin their kitchen garden¬ 
ing before the first of May, and these will 
find useful hints in the Notes of previous 
months. Those who are already well along 
with their garden work should bear in mind 
that a single sowing or planting of many of 
the vegetables is not enough ; of those that 
remain in proper condition hut a short time 
there should be a succession, following the 
earliest sowings at intervals, that there may 
be a continuous supply of peas, spinach, rad¬ 
ishes, lettuce, etc. Upon these succession 
crops much of the utility of the garden de¬ 
fends. As stated in the Farm Notes this is the 
month for planting com ; and “ about corn¬ 
planting time ” means the season when the 
vegetables in the tender class are to go into 
the open ground, that is, either their seeds are 
to be sown, or the plants that have been 
grown under glass, are to be set out. The 
leading tender vegetables are Beans, Cucum¬ 
ber, Melons, Okra, Pumpkin, Squash, Sweet 
Com, and Tomatoes. Plant Beans of the bush 
sorts in drills 18 inches apart. Among the 
best early sorts are Valentine and Mohawk ; 
of late years a class known as “Wax Beans ” 
are much liked by many ; the Golden Wax 
is one of the best of the dwarfs, and Giant 
Wax of the pole sort. Where the season is 
long enough, the Large Lima leads the list for 
Pole Beans. The Improved White Spine 
Cucumber is still mostly grown for the main 
crop. Green Prolific is the best for pickles. 
Plants that have been started in cold frames 
will need to be protected from chilly nights. 
One of the earliest Musk Melons is the Chris¬ 
tiana, yellow-fleshed, but excellent; Ward’s 
Nectar and Surprise, both fine. Hackensack, 
very large, and when true, very good. The 
Mountain Sweet and Gipsy are among the best 
Water Melons; there are other varieties worth 
a trial. For summer varieties of Squash, 
plant Summer Crookneck and Yellow Bush ; 
Hubbard and Butman are best for winter 
use. One of the favorite Tomatoes for gen¬ 
eral use is the Acme, it being early, prolific, 
smooth, and solid. The Trophy is also a fine 
red variety ; for yellow, the Golden Trophy 
is rich and handsome. Mr. Snead Thomas, 
Marion, Ind., sends a plan of planting ground 
to melons and cucumbers, which is very 
simple and satisfactory. The ground is 
marked out in the usual way for corn. Each 
