1881 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
409 
shady place is the best for keeping them 
fresh and palatable. This is a time when 
the weeds—if left to grow—will have gone 
to seed, and all such should be gathered and 
burned—not thrown on the manure or com¬ 
post heap. All young weeds, sods, and refuse 
from the root field, etc., may go into, and add 
value to, the compost heap. If there is a muck 
bed at hand, a quantity of muck may be 
Fig. 1.— A TOOL SLED, OR “BOAT.” 
taken out, and placed in a dry place to un¬ 
dergo the “weathering” necessary to fit it 
for a fertilizer to the soil, or better still, as an 
absorbent of liquid manure in the stable and 
feeding shed. If muck is used in the farm 
economy, there should be a muck heap, that 
is, a supply that has been subjected for a 
season to the action of the elements, before 
it is used. Should the season continue to 
be dry, draining of swamp lands will be in 
order. It is a serious error to dig the ditches 
so narrow as is done in many cases. A 
wide ditch, with very sloping edges, is the 
only kind that will last for any great length 
of time. It is far better to do thoroughly 
what is done, and leave the work to be taken 
up the next season. 
Notes on Farm Stock. 
It is nearly time to consider the winter 
feeding of farm stock, at least this is the 
month to make all the plans and get every¬ 
thing in order for the cold season that will 
soon be at hand. The question of winter 
feeding in all its bearings is an important 
one. There is a constant outgo of fodder, 
and the problem is to so govern the expen¬ 
diture that the best returns may be obtained. 
Not only must the animals be “kept,” but 
they must be kept well, that the opening of 
the new year of pasturage may not find them 
run down, or as it is termed “ spring poor.” 
Aside from bringing the stock through in a 
Fig. 2.— A FEED RACK FOR CATTLE. 
healthy and vigorous condition, there is the 
manure to be considered. This should be a 
good dividend upon the winter's outlay, and 
therefore it should have a place in the plans 
for winter feeding. It cannot be too strongly 
urged, that the best manure is made under 
cover. The same system which gives the 
best protection and care to the animals will 
insure the most satisfactoiy returns in the 
manure from them. Feeding for manure is 
more and more to be a leading factor in the 
winter keeping of farm animals. A plenty 
of the best feed, a free supply of pure water, 
and warm quarters, are three essentials in 
profitable winter farming. This does not 
mean that the animals shall be in the stalls 
and stables all the time, but it does preclude 
that out-of-door, straw-stack feeding when 
the animals must stand in unprotected, 
shivering groups the whole night through. 
Sheds—and good ones—will pay for them¬ 
selves in the better manure that will be made 
in them—not to mention the economy in 
food for the animals thus protected. Figure 
2 shows a form of feed rack for cattle that 
are fed loose under sheds. It is portable, i-e- 
quh-es but little skill to make it. and is an 
economical method of placing the fodder be¬ 
fore the animals. The lower part, A, is a box 
six feet square, and 20 inches high, with 
pieces of scantling in the corners which serve 
as feet. Two pieces of scantling, B, B, across 
the eixds of the top support the cross-bars, C, 
C, which make the bottom of the rack. 
Hard-wood should be used for the rounds. A 
partition, P, is put through the middle of the 
rack, when four animals will eat without 
disturbing each other. Winter dairying is 
profitable business in many localities, but it 
needs a careful and thoughtful hand to take 
charge of the work. Very much depends 
upon regularity of milk¬ 
ing, feeding, and all 
work about the stables. 
Work horses need the 
best of care, and even 
those that are idle dur¬ 
Fig. 3.— A CONVENIENT GRAIN BIN. 
ing the winter will suffer from lack of 
attention. They should have a run in the 
yard, but any violent exercise upon the frozen 
and slippery ground may cause lasting in¬ 
juries. Colts during their first winter need 
special attention, as they are, or should be, 
growing rapidly, and the colt is father to the 
horse. If it is pinched now, the stunted 
growth will diminish its value during its 
whole lifetime. Ewes that are to drop early 
lambs should be by themselves, and receive 
an abundance of good, nutritious food and 
pure water. A convenient bin for holding a 
i-eady supply of grain for the farm stock is 
shown in figure 3. The two top boards in 
front are hinged and fastened up by hooks at 
the end; they may be let down as desii-ed. 
One section of the double bin is shown closed, 
and the other open with the front let down, 
making it easy to remove the grain. The 
matter of the winter care of poultry is treated 
elsewhere at length, in a separate article. 
Notes on Orchard and Garden Work. 
So gradual is the approach of winter, that 
frequently the work which naturally belongs 
to the open, pleasant weather of October, 
may be carried on well into November. It 
should be remembered that spring with us is' 
short, and the amount of work is so great 
that it is the busiest season of the year. A 
late autumn may be made to greatly relieve 
the pressure of spring work, by allowing 
many things to be done well in advance. 
This is a time when a definite plan for the 
next season should be matured in all the de¬ 
partments of the orchard and garden. 
Oreli»v«l ami Nurserj. 
Trees planted this fall should have earth 
drawn up around them, making a mound 12 
to 15 inches in hight. It should be of solid, 
clean earth, free from all sods, weeds, etc., or 
else it will furnish a winter home for mice. 
The mound thus made serves a double pur¬ 
pose of a support to the young tree against 
the winds of winter, and prex r ents mice from 
gnawing the tree. Rabbits can do much 
harm to a young orchard. When the trees 
are few they can be protected by bands of 
cloth, or even tarred paper. These pests 
have a distaste for meat, and may be kept 
away from the trees by rubbing them with 
flesh or smearing the trunks with blood. 
Boys can catch many of them by trapping, 
and afford what is to many an acceptable 
variety for the table. If the weather remains 
mild, and the ground open, trees may be still 
planted. South of the 40th parallel planting- 
may be done during the greater paid of the 
winter. Planting in the fall relieves the 
pressure of spring woi-k. If the ground is 
frozen, l-ather than place the roots among 
frozen clods, it is better to heel-in the trees 
until spring. The labels upon the ti-ees 
should be looked to. Never leave the labels 
on the trees that are placed there in the nur¬ 
sery. They are usually wired on tightly, and 
are only intended to identify the trees when 
received, and not for permanent use. Un¬ 
less labels are well made and firmly fastened 
to the trees, they are soon lost. The old 
kind made of pine, and marked with a rather 
hard lead pencil upon a fresh coat of white 
lead paint is cheap and dux-able. Some pre¬ 
fer zinc stx-ips. For orchards it is best to 
have a chart, with each tree and its kind re- 
coi-ded, and not trust at all to labels. Cions 
may be cxxt as soon as the leaves fall, packed 
in sawdust or sand, and put in a cool cellar 
until needed for grafting. Care should be 
taken in selecting the cions, cutting them 
only from thrifty and healthy ti’ees. It is 
better to buy cions than to use any poor 
ones. Root grafting is done during the win¬ 
ter, and therefore the stocks shoixld be in a 
convenient place. They are taken frdm the 
ground before it freezes, assorted, tied in 
bundles, and then placed in boxes with the 
roots covered with soil and put in a cellar. 
The seeds of ti-ees for spring planting are 
best presei'ved by mixing them with sand 
and placing the boxes in a cool and dry 
place out of the way of the mice. The 
fences and gates of the orchard and nursery 
should be in good order at all times, and 
especially at this season, when a stray animal 
may get in and do serious damage. 
The I" a* si it tgiinlni. 
Blackberries and raspberries may be 
planted as late as the weather allows. These 
plants start into growth so early that it is 
better to set them in autumn. When new 
plants are desired they can be readily raised 
from root cuttings. Roots are removed from 
old plants by cutting down near the base 
with a spade, and taking up the severed 
roots. These are cut up into pieces three 
inches long, and placed in boxes of earth, 
and put in a cool cellar. Or they may be 
buried outside below the reach of frost, where 
water will not stand. Root cxxttings. kept 
