1882. j 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
two — of the most uncertain and disagreeable 
weather of the year; then summer at once follows. 
It is on account of this sudden opening of the 
growing season that we so often advise the doing 
of everything that can be properly done, in the fall. 
Whether one’s labor is in the orchard, the vine¬ 
yard, the fruit garden, or the vegetable or flower 
garden, no matter how much he may have done the 
previous autumn, he will find that the work of our 
brief spring will come upon him suddenly, and 
that a host of things will crowd themselves upon 
his attention, and all demanding to be done at 
once. In the press of work at the opening of the 
season it is possible to do some things too soon. 
One is often tempted to put in the plow or 6pade 
too soon in preparing the land for early crops. 
This is a case in which one can follow the old in¬ 
junction —“ make haste slowly.” If the soil does 
not crumble as it falls before the plow or from the 
spade, but is pasty and is left with a smooth sur¬ 
face, then wait. If the waiting seems too long, 
consider if drains will not help the matter next 
year. Another work that is often done too soon is 
tree planting. We advise the ordering of trees 
early, and the sooner they are received the better, 
but they need not be set out too early. In taking 
up the trees they lose a good share of tlieir roots, 
and those roots that remain are not yet established 
and in working order, or, as the gardeners say, 
“have not got hold of the soil.” Many forget 
that a tree is quite different from a post or a 
stake. If a young tree is planted and exposed to 
the drying winds of March, its buds and the bark 
are seriously affected; drying goes on, and the roots 
are not yet ready to supply the moisture needed to 
make up for this loss; hence many really good 
trees are actually dried to death or seriously in¬ 
jured, aud the nurseryman is blamed. It is far bet¬ 
ter to heel-iu the trees until the season of growth 
is at hand, even if the buds swell somewhat while 
they are in the trenches, than to subject them to 
“ a struggle for existence ” of this kind. 
Orchard »u«i Nursery. 
Iu planting an orchard, the ground should be 
prepared by thorough plowing, manuring, etc., in 
much the same way as for the sowing of wheat or 
any other field crop. A profitable orchard requires 
that much care be taken in preparing the land for 
the trees. The list of trees to be planted should 
have been made out before this and sent to the 
nurserymen, to insure early attention and also the 
getting of the better sorts, the supply of which 
may not equal the demand. If the trees arrive be¬ 
fore the time for planting, they may be kept with 
safety by heeling them in, that is, placing the roots 
in a trench and covering them temporarily with 
soil. Care should be taken that the labels do not 
get lost. It is well to separate the varieties aud 
give a stake to each with the name written upon it. 
It must be remembered that many of the roots 
have been broken by the removal of the trees from 
the nursery soil, and the growing trees will have 
less capacity for absorbing nourishment for some 
time; therefore the evaporating surface of the top 
of the tree should be correspondingly diminished. 
There is no rule to guide in the cutting off of the 
branches, hut it is always safe to cut away one- 
third of the shoots, and if the roots have been 
badly broken, more than this may be necessary. 
There are a number of methods of setting the 
trees ; that which is styled the Quincunx is pre¬ 
ferred by many orchardists. By this method each 
tree is in the center of a circle of six other trees. 
The method of laying out the Quincunx is given 
with illustrations in the Notes for March of last 
year. After the orchard is set, a map should be 
made on which the'positiou of each tree with its 
variety is given. The trees in old orchards will 
need attention; some of them may have broken 
limbs which should be trimmed away. Girdled 
tiees will need to be banked with earth, or 
grafts may be used to join the growing layer 
above the wound with that below. Pruning can be 
carried on until the sap starts , all large wounds 
should be covered with a wax made of three parts 
of beeswax, and rosin, and two parts of tallow 
93 
melted aud thoroughly mixed together. The wax 
is to be applied in a melted state, and when it 
hardens a protecting coat is formed. Much good 
may be done to old orchards by removing the de¬ 
caying scales of bark that cling to the trunks and 
larger limbs, at the same time destroying multi¬ 
tudes of the eggs and chrysalides of various in¬ 
sect pests. After the scraping, the trees may receive 
a washing of a thin, home-made soft soap. Graft¬ 
ing is one of those operations that every orehard- 
ist should be familiar with, but a detailed descrip¬ 
tion of it requires so much space that it is not best 
for us to treat the subject fully each year. Those 
interested iu grafting will find much of value in 
the Notes for April 1877. The nursery trees that 
were budded last summer will need attention. All 
above the bud must be removed that the youug 
shoot may have the whole nourishment supplied 
by the roots. Cut away the old stock not closer 
than one-half inch from the new branch. 
The l'riiit. Gardi'ii. 
We trust that many fruit gardens will be started 
this spring. Select a warm piece of ground con¬ 
veniently near the house for gathering the fruits 
and protection from trespassers. The soil should 
be rich, deep, and mellow ; in short, a fruit garden 
should have the best soil that can be found. A 
list of the best sorts of grapes, raspberries, black¬ 
berries, strawberries, currants, and gooseberries has 
been given in the Notes for last month, so that the 
selections might be made early, and the desired 
plants ordered in time to receive the best attention 
from the nurserymen. The planting is to be done 
so soon as the ground is settled. Blackberries and 
raspberries start very early, and it is best to set 
them in the fall, but very early in spring will do. 
The canes that grow this year will produce the 
fruit next season. Every farmer should grow all 
the grapes the family requires, and for this it is 
not necessary to have a large vineyard. A few 
vines well kept in some out-of-the-way place will 
; bring large returns for care bestowed upon them. 
} Grapes need a good soil and attention iu pruning. 
If one has no grape vines we should advise him to 
get a few this spring, and then take care of them. 
Regarding the care of the vines we intend to give 
full information as the season progresses. 
The Kitchen aud Market Garden. 
The cold frame plants, that is, those that were 
wintered in frames should go into the garden as 
soon as the soil is fit to work. The cabbage, cauli¬ 
flower and lettuce are the three leading kinds of 
plants that are kept in frames, and planted out 
early. The plants may be hardened iu the frames 
by taking off the sashes at all times during the 
present month, when the weather is not cold 
enough to chill the plants. In market gardens 
where a strict economy of the ground is of great 
importance, the lettuce is planted between the 
rows of cabbage or cauliflower. The ground should 
also be heavily manured—as high as 75 tons of fine 
stable manure per acre may be used—after which 
the land is marked out in rows about two feet 
apart, and the cabbage plants set 18 inches apart in 
the rows. The lettuce plants may be set one foot 
apart between these rows. The sowing in hot¬ 
beds and window-boxes needs to be done about 
six weeks before it is time for the young plants to 
go into the open ground. The hardy plants are 
the ones first to be considered in spring gardening, 
and all those the seeds of which can be sown “as 
early as the ground can be worked,” come under 
this class. Of these are Beets, Carrots, Cabbages, 
Cress, Cauliflower, Celery, Lettuce, Parsley, Pars¬ 
nip, Onion, Pea, Radish, Turnip, and Spinach. The 
tender sorts can not go into the ground with safety 
until the soil is well warmed, or to follow the old 
rule, not until “ about corn-planting time,” which 
is a safe guide in all parts of this country. Among 
the tender garden plants are: Beans, Cucumbers, 
Orka, Pumpkins, Squash, Tomato and Melons of 
both kinds. Some of these tender sorts may 
be started with great profit in the liot-bed or win¬ 
dow's for example the Tomato,but all frosts should 
be over before the plants are set in the garden. 
New varieties of vegetables are offered every 
year, and there is a great temptation to the novice 
to use them largely. It is a mistake to rely 
upon them for the main crop, instead of the 
old and well tested sorts. It is well to experiment 
to some extent with the new kinds, but it should 
be with a view to pleasure rather than profit. 
Everything should be in readiness for the com¬ 
ing busy weeks of spring: all the implements 
should have been put in good working order, and 
if necessary new ones bought. A good seed-sower 
will save more than its cost in a large garden the 
first year. The pea brush and bean poles can be 
best procured before the leaves start. The potato 
bug may be expected, and all should be prepared 
to meet this pest. The white butterfly is the 
parent of the cabbage “worm,” and killing it is the 
shortest way to destroy this trouble in the garden. 
The Flower Garden and I.aw n. 
A top-dressing of fine, well-rotted manure will do 
the old lawn much good. Care should be taken, 
that there be no weed seed in the fertilizer ap¬ 
plied. Ashes, guano, fine bone meal and nitrate 
of soda, are all excellent for a lawn, and they 
bring on no seeds of troublesome weeds. New 
lawns should be made as early in the spring as 
possible, that the grass may get a good start and 
protect its own roots during the hot months of 
summer. Red-Top is best for light soils, and 
Kentucky Blue-Grass for those of a clayey nature ; 
a little white clover may also be added. The seed 
should be sown liberally as a fine turf only comes 
from thick seeding. Not less than four bushels to 
the acre should be sown. If walks or drives are to 
be made, bear in mind that a walk that is cheap 
in the beginning is always unsatisfactory and 
dear iu the end. Make sufficient excavation and 
use large stones at the bottom with smaller 
ones near the surface, to make a solid foundation. 
Some of the ornamental trees may be planted 
early ; the evergreens may wait until later. 
<jJrceiil»o»ise and Window Plants. 
As the warm days of spring approach, the in¬ 
sect pests will multiply more rapidly, and greater 
care will be required iu keeping them in cheek. 
Thorough washings will kill the Red Spider. The 
Mealy Bug is best destroyed by hand picking. 
Abundant fresh air will be needed, and an oc¬ 
casional fumigation with tobacco. The bulbs 
brought into heat will soon produce flowers. The 
propagation of bedding plants should be going 
on. Seeds of plants to go into the open borders 
may be sown in boxes and given plenty of heat. 
Bee Notes for March. 
In the southern part of the country, in fact, well 
up into Ohio, Indiana, etc., bees will have com¬ 
menced work in earnest by the first of March. 
Until they can commence to gather polleu, their 
flight, for the most part, does only harm, and 
should be restrained as far as possible, without 
irritating them. Thus bees in the cellar should be 
kept there, and those out-doors may often be kept 
in the hives by shading the entrance. This is no 
small advantage, especially during the raw windy 
days, when the only result of flight will be evil, as 
the bees can gather nothing, and many that venture 
out will be borne far away by the wind, and be unable 
to return to the hive. Iu localities north of Central 
Ohio, bees will commence to store pollen about 
the first of April and up to the 10th. As soon as 
the bees can find pollen they may be carried out of 
the cellar, and by feeding a little every day to each 
colony, we may hasten on the brood-rearing, which 
is now the important work. As the bees commence 
to brood, they will consume a great deal of honey, 
and we must take care that they do not fall short 
of stores. Many times they will have enough honey 
in the hives to carry them through the cold part of 
winter, when, if properly cared for, they eat but 
very little, but not enough to last through the early 
spring. Feeding a little each day, of honey or 
sugar syrup, will prevent starvation, and farther 
