186 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[May. 
alternate “ hill ” is planted in each alternate 
row, the hills planted in one row alternating 
with those on each side of it. The method 
is shown in figure 1, where it is seen that 
each hill is in the center of a circle composed 
of six other equidistant hills, and thus form 
what in tree planting is known as ‘ ‘ quincunx.” 
The work with the crops already in will be 
largely that of weeding, hoeing, and thinning. 
The Asparagus should be cut with a strong 
knife and with care. Leave no small shoots to 
Fig. 1.— THOMAS’ METHOD OF PLANTING MELONS. 
grow. The early sown Beets will soon be 
large enough to thin for “ greens.” Sow the 
seed of Martynias in liot-beds and remove 
the plants to the garden when well started, 
setting them about three feet each way. 
Keep the Onions, Turnips, Carrots, Parsnips, 
and other plants in rows free from weeds by 
a frequent stirring of the soil between the 
rows, and employ hand-weeding and thin¬ 
ning where needed. Allowing the plants to 
stand too close is a common mistake. 
“ W. F.,” Southbridge, Mass., sends an im¬ 
provement upon the fruit-can seed sower, 
figured in our March Notes. It consists of a 
movable piece of tin, with holes of different 
Fig. 2.— AN IMPROVED SEED SOWER. 
sizes, which slides between two strips of tin 
soldered to the bottom of the can. By mov¬ 
ing this slide the size of the hole and the 
amount of seed that can pass through, is 
easily regulated. The bottom of a can thus 
arranged for sowing is shown in figure 2. 
Flower Carden and Faw n. 
It is getting late for starting a lawn, and if 
the seed is sown now, it is well to mix a small 
quantity of oats with it, that the oats may 
shade the young grass from the too great 
heat of the sun. The lawn mower must be 
used at least once a week on a well established 
lawn, and it is well to leave the fine clippings 
where they fall, to serve as a protection to 
the grass roots. Any weeds that may spring 
up, should be removed by the root. Most of 
them can be readily pulled, but if deeply 
rooted and the soil is heavy, a chisel upon a 
long handle will be of service. The green¬ 
house plants for bedding should not go out 
until all danger from cool nights is over. 
If evergreens are to be transplanted, the im¬ 
portant point is, to never let the roots get 
dry ; an hour in a drying wind may put a 
valuable evergreen beyond recovery. The 
placing of stones around newly planted ever¬ 
greens has an excellent effect, keeping the 
ground moist about the roots, and also serv¬ 
ing as an anchor to the tree., that might 
otherwise be moved to its disadvantage by 
the winds. There are many places where 
climbers can be grown with advantage. The 
piazza and other portions of the exterior of 
the house may be made very attractive with 
a few Akebias, Loniceras, and here and there 
a Clematis and Dutchman’s Pipe ( Aristo- 
lochia). Unsightly places may be easily 
screened by a growth of Morning Glories, 
Thunbergias, and other annual creepers. 
When the annuals are sown in the beds, care 
should be taken to preserve the names by 
using plain labels—a great deal of the inter¬ 
est connected with a variety resides in know¬ 
ing its name. Lilies, Gladioluses, and other 
bulbs can go into the open ground now. 
Provide stakes so soon as any support is 
needed. Castor Oil Plants (Ricinus) make a 
peculiar tropical and pleasing appearance in 
the garden, and can be had with little trouble, 
or expense, by sowing the seeds. The pot¬ 
ted plants that are to stand out-of-doors 
should have a partly shaded place, and if 
possible set them upon coal ashes to prevent 
worms from entering the pots. Shade for 
the greenhouse plants can be provided by 
using whitewash upon the sash or by put¬ 
ting up muslin screens. A plenty of fresh 
air should be admitted, and water given 
freely. Insects will thrive unless subdued 
by fumigation, hand-picking, and washing. 
What Shall I Do with the Grape Vine? 
The American Agriculturist is taken by a 
surprisingly large number who are not farm¬ 
ers, but who live in cities and villages. Many 
of these follow the custom of moving on May 
first, and such, as a general thing, find upon 
their new place one or more neglected grape 
vines. Each year we receive from such ten¬ 
ants inquiries, asking, in one form or another, 
“how should a neglected vine be pruned?” 
We would not advise pruning, as usually un¬ 
derstood—the cutting away of the old wood, 
at this season, as it causes it to “bleed” at 
a great rate ; even if, as some claim, bleeding 
does not injure the vine, it makes a nuis¬ 
ance that it is desirable to avoid. A vine in a 
village or city yard may be quite as valuable 
for its shade as for its fruit—indeed often 
more so. Such a vine, it is safe to assume, 
has been sadly neglected, and if it has had 
any treatment at all, it has been at the hands 
of some ignorant jobber. To make the best 
of it, is all that can be done with an old vine, 
and as each one will be different from every 
other, we can only give some general rules. 
Upon an old vine the new growth will usually 
not only start from the proper places, the 
buds formed last year, but shoots will “break” 
anywhere, even upon old wood an inch or 
more in diameter. When an old vine pushes 
shoots here and there, it is well to break off 
such, and as a general thing, allow only those 
shoots to grow that come from regular buds. 
As these buds push, they will show embryo 
clusters, among the unfolding leaves. These 
minute clusters are not of grapes, as many 
suppose, but of the buds of the flowers of 
the vine, which may in time produce grapes. 
The regular buds, as a general thing, will 
show three of these little bunches. Examine 
such a shoot, and there will be found an un¬ 
developed leaf, and opposite to it a cluster of 
buds; and this arrangement, a leaf with a 
cluster, will usually be repeated three times 
(not always), and then, above, on the shoot, 
will be leaves, with opposite to each, not a 
cluster, but instead there will be a tendril. 
All the grapes that the shoot will bear may 
be seen in this early state. In regular vine¬ 
yard training, the young shoot is pinched 
back to the first leaf beyond the last, or upper¬ 
most cluster of buds. But, in the hap-hazard 
treatment that must be followed in the pres¬ 
ent case, it will be safe to allow more leaves 
to remain. Go over the vine when the shoots 
begin to push, and pinch out the end of every 
shoot, leaving three leaves above the upper¬ 
most cluster of buds ; this will give all the 
foliage required for shade, and will allow the 
fruit to develop much better than if the shoot 
were allowed to grow at will. If, as is often 
the case on an old vine, two shoots push 
close together from one place, by all means 
break out the weakest of the two. We will 
endeavor to give the future treatment of such 
a vine another month. The principal insects 
that attack the vine at this early season are 
the little leaf-rolling caterpillar, which will 
be mainly removed if the pinching of the 
shoots is done at the proper time. 
Extirpating the Osage Orange. 
In answer to our request for the methods 
of those who have had experience in destroy¬ 
ing an Osage Orange hedge, a number of re¬ 
plies have been sent, and we give the essential 
portions of two of the most unlike of these. 
Mr. D. B. Paine, Christian Co., Ill., had a 
hedge about 20 rods long, and some 17 years 
old. Finding the necessary care in trimming, 
etc., more than he was willing to give to it, 
he concluded to remove it and replace it by a 
picket fence. In December, 1877, he, with a 
hired man, went at the job, Mr. P. pushing 
the plants over with a long-handled fork, 
while the man cut them off with an axe at 
two or three inches below the surface of the 
ground. A picket fence was then built along 
the line of the hedge, and care was taken to 
leave the stubs of the Osage plants exposed 
as much as possible. The ground was frozen 
throughout the winter; in spring, to his 
surprise, but few shoots appeared from the 
roots; the few that started were allowed to 
get 12 to 18 inches high, when with a spade 
the root was dug out and cut off below the 
sprout. This ended the Osage Orange fence, 
of which Mr. P. says: “ I want no more.” 
.... Mr. J. Teachie, Baltimore Co., Md., hav¬ 
ing to destroy a hedge that had been estab¬ 
lished 25 years, began the work in spring. 
The plants, which at this age had trunks as 
large as fair sized trees, were cut off as close 
as possible to the surface of the ground. In 
the driest part of summer, every root that 
could be seen was grubbed out, and the land 
put in shape. When the autumn rains came 
only two or three shoots appeared, and these 
were extirpated, and none sprung up there¬ 
after. From these accounts there does not 
appear to be any special difficulties in getting 
rid of the old Osage Orange hedge plants. 
Bone Meal.—The value of bone meal 
depends largely upon the amount of phos¬ 
phoric acid it contains. In bone this acid is 
in combination with lime as phosphate of 
lime, and makes up nearly one half by weight 
of raw bone. The other constituents are 
water, fat, and animal matters, with about 
four per cent of carbonate of lime. The 
action of bone as a fertilizer, whether quick 
or slow, depends upon its fineness. If ground 
