1879.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
169 
a dose of medicine. Where there are no stones in 
the fields, the shoes may be removed from the plow 
teams for a time, with benefit. Hurry up the work 
during this month, so that as the mid-day heat 
increases next month, some leisure may be taken. 
Oxen as beasts of draft are in some places better 
than horses. They require different treatment from 
horses, and especially in the spring, when warm 
weather opens. Sufficient time should be given for 
them to feed, and being slow of motion, they 
should be driven accordingly. In working small 
farms, oxen will be found more economical than 
horses, and a pair may be useful on a large farm. 
Cows. —Now that the cows are fully on the pas¬ 
tures, supply them regularly with salt. One ounce 
a day is sufficient, and it will prevent possible inju¬ 
rious effect of the fresh succulent food which oth¬ 
erwise might appear in the form of severe and dan¬ 
gerous disorders of the blood. A noon feed of hay 
with a quart of cotton-seed meal will be useful 
this month, until the grass becomes less succulent. 
Calves. —The thriftiest calves should be closely 
watched when turned to pasture, lest they be at¬ 
tacked with “ black quarter.” This is the effect of 
too rank and watery food which impairs digestion. 
An ounce of Epsom salts may be given with advan¬ 
tage to each calf when turned out, as a precaution 
against this frequent danger. 
A Change of Food is to be made cautiously. The 
stomach and bowels are easily disordered by the 
sudden and serious change made at this season, and 
during the first month the substitution of grass or 
clover for dry food should be gradual. The first 
symptoms of anything wrong in cows, is a shrink¬ 
ing of the milk, or a loss of appetite. 
Sheep and Lambs. —Ewes from which lambs have 
been taken, should be relieved of some of their 
milk if their udders are full. The flock should be 
counted twice a day, and carefully examined for 
anything that may be amiss. Ewes to be fattened 
may be fed liberally. 
Washing Sheep. —The practice of washing 6heep 
before shearing is very disagreeable, and is un¬ 
necessary. Nothing is gained in the price of the 
wool—in fact, the usual deduction made by wool 
buyers for unwashed wool leaves an advantage with 
the seller. The practice is dangerous to health of 
both men and sheep, and may well be abolished. 
Dipping the Lambs. —When the sheep are shorn, 
the ticks gather on the lambs, and these pests may 
be destroyed by dipping. Buchan’s Cresylic Sheep 
Dip is a safe and effective preparation for destroy¬ 
ing all outward parasites of the sheep, and the 
Cresylic Ointment is useful to cure accidental cuts 
made in shearing, and to prevent damage by flies 
on wounds. 
Poultry. —Young chicks will thrive best when they 
are kept dry and clean, and moved frequently to 
fresh ground. There is no better place for a coop 
than the garden through which the chicks will wan¬ 
der freely, picking up or driving off many insects. 
A bed of young cabbages may be kept clear of flea- 
beetles, and other crops may be preserved in a sim¬ 
ilar manner, by a few broods of chicks : Provide an 
abundance of clean water, tight shelter overhead 
and a dry floor. There will rarely be gapes if this 
plan is followed. 
Orchard and Garden Work. 
Over a large part of the country the custom pre¬ 
vails of making the first of May “moving day,” 
and those who come into new possessions, whether 
by purchase or by renting, do so at a time incon¬ 
veniently late for garden and orchard opera¬ 
tions. Still, this late beginning is hot so disad¬ 
vantageous as many suppose, especially if one has 
made his plans in view of it, and has so arranged 
matters that, when work does begin, he will lose 
no time in planning and such preliminary matters. 
One may even plant an orchard or fruit garden 
in May (this, of course, refers to the Northern 
States), if he has had the forethought to select and 
order the trees and plants, and had these heeled-in 
ready for planting. In the Kitchen Garden there is 
but little loss from late sowing; the majority of 
seeds give better results if the sowing is delayed 
until the ground is well warmed. Therefore, those 
who must, from necessity, begin their operations 
this month, need not be discouraged. In well- 
regulated nurseries, this late demand is provided 
for; the ordinary trees and shrubs are taken up early 
in the season, heeled-in, and thus kept dormant. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
The earliest work is provided for in the Notes for 
the last two months. Special attention is called to 
the directions given last month for the treatment 
of trees—and it applies as well to shrubs—that 
have been injured in transportation. 
Crafting of old trees, while best done just as the 
buds upon the tree are swelling, maybe continued, 
with proper care, until the trees are in bloom. In 
late grafting, the bark slips readily, and care is re¬ 
quired in cutting off the branches to not make bad 
wounds. At this time, before sawing off a branch, 
cut around it with a knife quite through the bark 
to the wood, and let the saw follow this cut; this 
will avoid displacing the bark. 
Buds upon the Stock should be left until it is seen 
that the graft is in union with it, which will be 
known by the growing of the buds on the graft, 
when those on the stock may be rubbed off. 
Treatment of Grafts. —A cion inserted in an old 
tree is to be treated like a young tree planted in 
the ground, so far as shaping it goes. Sometimes 
a single bud will start and make a long wand-like 
shoot, without any side branches; this, if left to 
be whipped about by storms, may break the tender 
union between stock and cion. When a shoot of 
this kind is long enough, check it by pinching out 
the top, to induce it to form branches. So, when all 
the buds on a cion grow and make a crowded mass, 
remove a part, or check their growth by pinching. 
Planting in Orchards. —No questions are more 
frequent than those that relate to crops in the 
orchard. There seems to be a reluctance to give 
up the soil to the trees. Those who do not care 
enough for an orchard to give the land to it, 
should not plant one. But there is a time, between 
the planting of the trees and their coming into 
bearing, when the soil may be planted with other 
crops to the benefit of the trees, and this should be 
the first consideration. When an orchard of any 
kind is properly planted, the trees, when full 
grown, need all the soil, and no crop should be 
taken froman established orchard. We use the term 
No Ci-op taken from, for a crop may be grown in 
an orchard to its benefit, as when the ground is 
sown to clover or other crop, to be pastured by 
swine or sheep, and the roots ultimately plowed 
under; such cropping will constantly improve the 
land and benefit the trees. But no crop should be 
taken from the land in a bearing orchard. 
Young Orchards. —The trees, at first, can occupy 
but a small share of the soil with their roots, and 
the spaces between them must be kept clear of 
weeds ; this may be advantageously done by grow¬ 
ing a crop at the same time, provided it is one that 
leaves the soil in as good condition as at first. In 
the great peach district, Indian corn is the general 
crop for young peach orchards. The rows of trees 
are twenty feet apart, and four rows of corn are 
put between each two rows of trees, allowing four 
feet between the rows, and the same distance be¬ 
tween the trees and the rows of corn next to them. 
With the peach, a rapid grower, com will answer,but 
For Apple Orchards, the shade would be too great 
for thorough ripening, and lower growing crops, 
such as potatoes, squashes, melons, are preferable, 
especially as these, to be profitable, require a free 
use of manure and the thorough killing of weeds. 
Insects will demand attention this month and 
every other month until vegetation ceases. Much 
of the success in fruit growing depends upon the 
close watching and proper combatting of these 
enemies. Only the leading pests can be mentioned. 
Bark Lice. —These, especially the Oyster-shell 
Bark-louse, has much increased lately. If a tree 
from the nursery is infested, don’t plant it, but 
charge it to the nurseryman. If an infested tree 
has been planted, pull it up and burn it and plant 
another. If an established tree shows this pest, 
paint it over, before the growth begins, with lard 
oil, or other cheap, not drying, oil. Several have 
used crude petroleum with success. 
Canker Worms. —Barriers of tar or printer’s ink 
upon bands of strong paper, put around the trunk, 
will keep the wingless female from ascending. 
Where the insects have reached the top, laid eggs, 
and the “worms” are already at work on the 
foliage, prevention is useless. Birds will destroy 
some. Some Western orchardists have found bene¬ 
fit from the use of Paris green—a tablespoonful to 
a pailful of water, syringed upon the foliage. 
The Tent Caterpillar. —Wc have in time advised 
the destruction of the eggs. The caterpillars, 
when hatched, keep together and form a web or 
“tent.” As soon as one of these is seen, destroy 
it in the morning or evening, when the insects are 
within. A hand, with or without a glove, to re¬ 
move the tent, and a foot to crush the whole, are 
all the appliances needed. 
Borers are not hatched within the tree. The 
eggs are laid on the bark, and the caterpillars then 
eat their way in. When within, their presence is 
shown by sawdust, by gum, by a depression in the 
bark, all near the root. When discovered, cut out 
with a knife or probe, or kill with a wire probe. 
Curcvlio, especially destructive to the plum, and 
often so to the peach and other fruits, can only be 
treated by shaking off with a sudden jar, catching 
on a sheet or some substitute, and killing. If any 
one offers a curculio preventive, try before buying. 
Plant Lice, often in crowds on the ends of cherry 
and other twigs, are easily killed by tobacco water. 
Thin the Fruit. —Really choice fruit can only be 
had by thinning, and those who grow for market 
find that it pays. The sooner the thinning is done, 
after the fruit has fairly set, the better. In most 
seasons, one-half is too little to remove. 
The Fruit Garden, 
The earlier operations are hinted at in the Notes 
of the last two months. What has been said above, 
of late planting, applies also here. 
Strawberries may still be planted, but as prepara¬ 
tory to next year’s crop. It is not practicable to 
get a crop the same season the plants are set. If 
plants were not covered last fall, the sooner they 
are mulched the better. Clear up the beds, apply 
some good fertilizer along the rows, and give a good 
covering of straw, marsh hay, or other litter; this 
will both keep the soil moist, and preserve the 
fruit from contact with the earth. 
Raspberries and Blackberries. —When new shoots 
start from the ground, allow only those to grow 
that are needed for next year’s fruiting. Novices 
need to be reminded that next year’s fruit will be 
borne on stems that have grown this year, and that 
those which bear fruit this year will die. 
Currants. —Watch for the eggs of the destruc¬ 
tive caterpillar ; these are laid on the underside of 
the lowermost leaves, and if destroyed before they 
hatch, much future trouble may be prevented. 
When the worms appear upon the leaves, White 
Hellebore is an efficient remedy. It may be dusted 
upon the bushes dry, or by stirring a tablespoonful 
in a pail of water, and applying with a syringe or 
garden pump. Two or three applications, at the 
intervals of a few days, will dispose of them. 
Gooseberries are attacked by the same insect, and 
the same treatment should be given them. In 
most localities, gooseberries are more profitable 
when marketed green than if ripe. They should 
be full-grown, but not be at all soft or colored. 
The White Grub , the larva of the “June or May 
or Dor-Bug,” besides being very destructive else¬ 
where, often makes sad work with strawberries. 
Working under-ground, its presence is not known 
until the mischief is done. “When a strawberry 
plant is found to wilt, take it up ; its roots will be 
found to be eaten off, and it is past remedy. 
Search for the grub, and find it before it goes to 
another plant. They generally follow the row. 
Grape Vines. —It is not too late to plant, if dor¬ 
mant vines can be had, and most dealers retard 
them by keeping a stock in a cool cellar. It costs 
