1881.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
347 
neglect, it should be cut before a heavy frost 
comes, and as the grain shells so easily, the 
harvesting should be done in the morning 
while the dew is on. After lying for a few 
days to cure, rake the crop, when moist, into 
bunches, and set it up like com shocks. 
After thrashing spread out the grain on 
the bam floor or elsewhere, as it will heat 
and spoil if stored at once in deep bins. 
Notes on Farm Stock. 
During the hurry of sowing the fall crop, 
and harvesting those still upon the ground, 
the live stock should not be neglected. The 
pastures are getting old and need “piecing 
out,” by a quantity of fodder, in the shape 
of roots, com stalks, or some more concen¬ 
trated food. Especially important it is for 
the animals to have an abundance of fresh 
water when the pastures do not afford the 
juicy herbage of spring and early summer. 
Horses will be hard worked and therefore 
need an abundance of good, substantial food. 
After a day’s work the coat may be sponged 
with clean water, with a few drops of car¬ 
bolic acid in it. This will help much to keep 
the skin clean, and in a healthful condition, 
and avoid the disagreeable smell that too 
frequently comes from horses in warm 
weather. A run in the pasture during the 
night is acceptable to the horses, but the 
regular feed should be .given them before 
they are turned out at night. All horse 
owners are interested in the feet of their 
animals. We therefore take pleasure in re¬ 
ferring the reader to the article on “ Horse 
Shoeing,” by Dr. Slade, found on page 362. 
Colts should be fed a few oats each day and 
a shade provided for them in the pasture, if 
there are no trees to serve this purpose. Cows 
giving milk will need liberal feeding; if al¬ 
lowed to “fall off” now, the flow of milk 
can not be brought up again before cold 
weather sets in. A field of fodder com will 
now be most profitable, and with this green 
fodder a quantity of bran or meal can be fed 
with advantage. See also that there is an 
abundant supply of fresh water for the dai¬ 
ry. The sheep are excellent for picking up 
the “scatterings” from most crops, and the 
flock should be turned into the harvested 
fields to do this work. Only those ewes that 
are to bear early lambs should receive the 
ram this month, and they should have 
special care that they may begin the winter 
in good condition. The character of the 
lambs depends largely upon the ram, there¬ 
fore only the best should be used. It is bet¬ 
ter to purchase a first-class ram, than to use 
an inferior one that is in the flock. Pigs and 
poultry do not thrive in close confinement 
during hot weather. They need space for 
free movement, an abundance of fresh air 
and good wholesome food. The pens and 
roosts need to be frequently looked to, that 
they may be free from all vermin. A good 
way to cleanse is to give the woodwork a 
thorough coaling of white wadi, either ap¬ 
plied with a force pump or dashed on with a 
large brush, until every part, floor and all, 
is completely covered with the white wash. 
Notes on Orchard and Garden Work. 
This is the season of the year for the in¬ 
gathering of the fruits of the Orchard and 
Garden. More than this, it is the time of the 
various fairs, and the wide-awake fruit 
grower and gardener may now lay in a stock 
of information that will be difficult to get in 
any other time or way. Almost every one 
can go to at least one fair, and most persons 
can visit several; nearly all can take some¬ 
thing that will interest others, and help to 
make the exhibition more complete. There 
are those who go simply to see the crowd, and 
such do not get all the good that is set before 
them. They may even grumble at the things 
on exhibition, and boast that they have bet¬ 
ter at home, at the same time making an ex¬ 
hibition of their own lack of sympathy with 
all that is progressing. Every one should 
look upon the fair as a school in which all 
are both teachers and scholars, a place for 
giving information upon how and what to do 
this and that, and in turn receiving valuable 
hints on the same or other topics. With such 
a spirit, even a small fair can be made a great 
success. The knowledge to be gained is much 
more than the money value of the prize that 
is to be obtained. It is a striving after a better 
system of culture, a superior variety of fruit 
and flower, etc., rather than the dollars and 
cents in the prize awarded ; the latter is but 
a means to an end, and that end is more 
knowledge and a wiser class of people. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
For many reasons fall planting is preferable 
to spring. The soil now is warm and mellow, 
and there is more time at this season, and the 
work can be done without the hurry that too 
frequently seems necessary during the busy 
weeks of spring. The trees become estab¬ 
lished and are ready for an earlier start, and 
are therefore better able to withstand the 
drouth that may come in midsummer. After 
the trees are planted, a mound of earth 12 
to 15 inches high, thrown 
up around the trunk, 
will keep the water from 
settling about the roots 
of the tree, and also 
serve as a support 
against the winter 
winds, and protect the 
base from the attacks 
of mice. If the leaves 
are stripped from the 
nursery trees, they may 
be set out some weeks earlier than other¬ 
wise. There is no harm done to the tree 
by the removal of the leaves, provided they 
have finished their work, and are simply wait¬ 
ing for the frost and winds of autumn to take 
them off. If left on there is danger of fer¬ 
mentation in the package while being trans¬ 
ported, and after the trees are planted they 
cause an evaporation and demand for water 
that it is difficult for the newly placed roots 
to supply. Even if trees are to be set in the 
spring, the ground should be prepared for 
them now, and all arrangements made for 
their prompt arrival from the nursery as soon 
as needed for planting. The quincunx method, 
by which each tree stands at the comer of an 
equal-sided triangle, and also at the center 
Fig. 3.— A HORSE FOR SHOCKING CORN. 
and equally distant from six surrounding 
trees, is recommended for all orchards of 
small-sized trees. It gives a more uniform 
space on all sides of the tree, as each tree is 
surrounded by a circle of six trees, instead of 
being at one comer of a square. This is the 
off year for apples, and all the more care 
should be taken in picking, sorting, packing, 
etc. The figure shows a very simple ladder, 
which may be used upon larger trees, and ia 
A HANDY FRUIT LADDER. 
to be preferred to the ordinary kind, as it can 
be set among the branches with greater ease. 
The construction is easily understood from the 
engraving. The method of using deep fruit 
baskets with a hook attached is also shown in 
the figure. The use of a common grain bag 
as a receptacle for picking fruit has some im¬ 
portant advantages. One side of the mouth 
of the bag is tied to the corresponding comer 
at the bottom, first putting an apple in the 
comer to hold the string from slipping off.. 
The bag is then hung over the shoulder with 
the mouth in front. The picker has both 
hands free and can empty the bag by lower¬ 
ing it into the barrel without bruising the 
fruit. All but the poorest apples will be 
marketable, and such should be made into 
cider. Much fruit of second quality can be 
saved by drying. Excellent dryers are now 
made, which at small cost turn out a hand¬ 
some light-colored product vastly superior to 
that made in the old way of exposing to the 
sun, air, and various insects. If fruit is to 
be dried in this manner, or on an ordinary 
stove, it should be protected from insects by 
means of netting. Budding is an important 
work at this season, the precise time depend¬ 
ing on the stock. The bark must lift readily, 
and the buds should be well matured. After 
the buds show that they have “taken,” the 
ties should be removed by cutting thorn. 
The Fruit Garden. 
The old strawberry beds should be kept 
clean of weeds, removing aft runners not 
needed for new plants. New beds may be set 
this month, but there is very little gained in 
point of time over spring planting unless 
“ potted plants ” are used. These are plants 
from runners which have struck root in pots 
of earth, set under them; by removing the 
earth with the plant there is no cheeking 
of growth, and a fair crop of fruit may be 
expected the following summer. There is a 
