520 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
to run an inch deeper, while the width of the slice 
remains the same, or taking a narrower furrow while 
the depth remains as before. 
In plowing flat furrows, the depth may be six 
inches and the width ten. Or they may be seven 
by twelve, or six by twelve. Such should be com¬ 
pletely turned over, grass dowu, with no lap what¬ 
ever. A field so plowed may be harrowed with a 
heavy harrow, and be thus well mellowed, without 
danger of tearing up any of the sods. 
In lap-furrow plowing, the depth being six or 
seven inches, the width should be about nine or ten. 
The slice will then be so turned that the edge of the 
sward would lap upon that previously plowed about 
two inches, if it could lie flat, but on account of the 
mass of earth lying upon the grass side of the pre¬ 
vious furrow-slice, the new turned slice will lie 
up at an angle of about 30 deg., and the whole 
field, when plowed, present an appearance of even 
ridges or “combs.” It is a matter of pride with 
English or Scotch plowmen to have these combs as 
sharp as possible, hence their plows are adapted to 
do that work, and the pressure brought to bear 
upon the long mould-boards is excessive, adding 
much to the draft and to the labor of plowing with¬ 
out commensurate, or perhaps any, good results. 
Lap-furrow plowing is adapted to winter fallow¬ 
ing, or, as we call it, fall plowing, when no crop is 
put upon the land, but it is desired to expose the 
soil to the ameliorating influences of freezing and 
thawing, and is useful when some other crop than 
Indian corn is to be put on in the spring. It is 
never worth while to plow in the fall for corn. 
Getting SS<‘ji«ly for Spring. 
A light and warm work-shop is a good invest¬ 
ment. Men and boys cannot be expected to do 
much work if their fingers are numbed with cold, 
but if a suitable place and proper facilities are 
provided, the stormy days of winter may be turned 
to good account. Among the needed preparations 
for spring is putting the implements in good order. 
Not merely the mowers and other costly imple¬ 
ments, but even the hoe and spade will do better 
work if properly ground. All iron and steel tools 
and parts of machines can be readily preserved 
from rust by the use of a mixture of lard and 
rosin, melted together (an ounce of rosin to a pound 
of lard), and stirred while cooling. This may be 
applied by means of a rag, or better, a swab, made 
by winding a bit of cloth around the end of a 
stick. Only a light coating is needed, and this is 
more readily applied if the article be warm. If the 
wood-work of machines was originally painted, it 
is well to repaint when necessary, but if it was 
merely oiled, use linseed oil again. For wood that 
has not been painted or oiled, crude petroleum, 
(several applications to saturate the wood,) is an 
excellent preservative. Where there are many 
small tools, such as the trowels, hand forks, etc., 
it is well to paint a portion of the handles bright 
red. Such affairs are quite apt to be left where 
last used, or dropped in going from place to place. 
The .red makes them very conspicuous, and will 
often save much hunting. Besides repairing, va¬ 
rious garden conveniences may be made. Markers 
of various widths are useful, though it is quite as 
convenient to have a marker so arranged that it 
will serve for several distances. The head of the 
marker should be a piece of scantling, and the 
teeth of hard wood. Placing one row of teeth 
nine inches apart, and the teeth of the other row 
a foot apart, will allow, by the use of every mark, 
or every other one, rows at four different distances 
to be made,—9, 12, 18, and 24 inches. A good 
wooden reel for the garden line is much more use¬ 
ful than the poorly made iron ones so often sold. 
It is well to have ready the boxes for raising plants 
from seeds, either in the house or in the hot-bed. 
Those for the window may be a foot wide, three 
inches deep, and of a length corresponding to the 
width of the window frame. Those for use in the 
hot-beds are most cheaply made from the boxes 
in which starch, soap, and other articles are 
purchased. These can be bought, when empty, at 
a low price, and by cutting them in halves, two 
may be made from each, the cover forming the bot¬ 
tom of one of them. Boxes, without either top 
or bottom, with mosquito netting tacked on in 
place of the cover, are of great service in keeping 
insects from melon or other vines. 
Wires is> tlie Window. 
As out-door gardening is largely a matter of 
“ sticks and strings,” so the proper keeping of the 
window garden depends largely upon wires. It is 
not safe to rely upon cords of any kind for sus¬ 
pending baskets and pots, or for training climbers 
over the window frame. Copper wire costs but 
little, is easily fashioned into any desired shape, 
and does not become weak with decay. With 
ivy, and other vines, first place a wire where 
it is desired to lead the stems, and tie them 
to it. This is much better than to fasten the 
vine directly to the wall, or window casing. 
Pots, especially if the plants have a trailing habit, 
may sometimes be suspended at the sides of the 
window to advantage, and brackets of some cast 
metal are sold at the seed stores. Equally useful 
pot-brackets may be made from stout brass wire 
about an eighth of an inch in diameter and as 
long as necessary. A ring is first formed by 
bending the wire around an empty pot of the size 
to be used ; it is then to be bent to form an arm 
about two inches long; bind the two parts forming 
this arm, with fine copper wire; then turn up one 
end and make a hook at the top by which to hang 
the bracket. Turning the other end down, let it 
terminate in a triangle or a ring that will rest flat 
against the casing to hold it steady. The arrange¬ 
ment of the wire is easily made. Nearly all the 
needed supports, such as trellises, balloor frames, 
ets., may be made of stout wires, held in place by 
binding the parts with fine copper wire. 
Plants in Cold Frnme<s. 
Those who undertake the management of cold 
frames for the first time, are apt to keep the plants 
too warm. Cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce 
plants, are the kinds generally kept in the frames, 
and they are quite hardy. The whole treatment 
should be directed towards keeping the plants per¬ 
fectly dormant, and it is more necessary to do this 
at the beginning of winter, than near the end. The 
sashes should not be placed over the plants until 
freezing weather; there are not many days during 
the winter on which the frames are to be kept en¬ 
tirely closed. The ventilation, or “giving air,” as 
the gardeners say, is done by sliding down the 
sashes from the back, or, if the frames have no 
cross-pieces, by tilting and placing wedge-shaped 
blocks between them and the edge of the frame. 
Whenever the thermometer stands at 10° in the 
shade, open the sashes for an inch or two. As the 
temperature increases, open wider, and at 30° re¬ 
move them altogether. If the plants within the 
frames are frozen when there is a fall of snow, 
they may remain in that condition for several 
weeks without injury ; but if there is a storm, and 
the plants are at the time unfrozen, it will be neces¬ 
sary to remove the snow from the sashes, as the 
plants would blanch and become weak. Cauli¬ 
flower plants are rather more tender than the oth¬ 
ers, and in zero weather in may be well to cover 
the sashes with a straw mat, or other covering. 
Orchards Damaged by Animals, 
Horses, cattle, sheep, and other animals are, ca¬ 
pable of doing a vast amount of injury, and in¬ 
deed of completely ruining young fruit trees. 
Ordinarily proper attention to fences and gates 
will protect the young orchards. But in deep 
snows the fences are easily passed over; when the 
ground is covered, animals will browse upon twigs 
of various kinds, and they seem to show a marked 
preference for those of fruit trees. In those locali¬ 
ties where animals are allowed to run at large, it is 
a difficult matter to protect a young orchard against 
stray beasts. Besides the domestic animals, hares, 
or rabbits as we improperly call them, and mice 
are often very destructive. Mice like to work un¬ 
der cover, hence there should be no dead weeds, or 
other rubbish, beneath which they may hide,, left 
around the trees. In setting out trees it is well to 
make a sharp mound, a foot or more high, around 
the base of the trunk. This holds the tree firmly, 
and protects it from the mice. When snow falls, 
and is deep enough to cover the mounds, then it is 
the mice’s opportunity, and unless prevented, there 
may be great destruction. Working under the 
light snow, the creatures can attack the bark 
above the mound, and they are quite careful to 
make their girdling complete. Every young tree 
should have the snow beaten or tramped down 
close to the trunk, making the snow so hard that 
the mice can not work under it. It will be trouble¬ 
some, but not so much so as to try to repair dam¬ 
ages next spring, or to replace the injured trees by 
others. Rabbits, on the other hand, like to work 
on top of the 6now. We had a row of dwarf apple 
trees, on which one winter nearly every twig had 
been “ shortened in,” as neatly as by a knife. The 
snow prevented the rabbits from reaching the 
trunks, and they took small branches. Traps and 
shot are good remedies. The old preventive, to 
kill a rabbit and rub the tree with its opened car¬ 
case, was supposed to act as a warning to others. 
Its efficacy depends upon the aversion of the ani¬ 
mal to blood. It is now a common remedy, especi¬ 
ally with western nurserymen and orchardists, to 
procure blood at the slaughter house, and sprinkle 
the trunks of the trees. A few corn husks tied to 
the end of a stick is used as a swab in applying it; 
very little to each tree will answer. 
IHoiild iintl Lice oil Fruit Trees. 
A correspondent in Middleburgh, Md., writes 
us, that he finds patches of mould upon the 
branches of his apple trees, and on removing the 
soil, the same is also found on the roots near the 
surface. Moreover, he discovers numerous small 
insects within the patches of mould. Other corres¬ 
pondents have from time to time referred to the 
same trouble, and at present it would appear to be 
increasing. A careful examination of the mould 
will show that it is a part of, or rather that it comes 
from, the insects themselves. The louse is about 
one-tenth of an inch long, and blackish in color. It 
exudes from its body great numbers of long, white 
woolly, or rather cottony, threads, which, w T hen 
many insects are together, form an envelope for 
all, and gives the mass an appearance well described 
as “mouldy.” At one time it was supposed the 
root-inhabiting insect and the one on the branches 
were distinct; the latter is known in England as 
the “American Blight,” and while it appears to 
have been taken from this country to Europe, 
recent investigations have shown the two forms 
to be identical. Its scientific name is Schizoneura 
lanigera, while Woolly Aphis is the common name, 
which should be generally adopted. The root-in¬ 
habiting form is more injurious than the other, espe¬ 
cially on young trees, where it often works unsus¬ 
pected, but either form, wherever it may be, is con¬ 
stantly at work sucking the juices from the tree, and 
if not arrested will debilitate it and make it worth¬ 
less. For the louse upon the roots, one of the most 
effective remedies is hot water. The earth is to be 
removed from over the roots near the surface, and 
boiling water copiously applied. The water will 
be so much cooled by contact with the roots, and 
the soil, that it will not injure the tree. Clear lime- 
water is useful ; this may be made by slaking a 
peck of lime in a barrel, filling up with water and 
allowing the undissolved lime to settle until the 
water is perfectly clear. Water can dissolve only 
one seven-hundredth of its weight of lime, yet 
this solution has a marked caustic taste, and will 
kill all soft-bodied insects and worms, while it will 
not injure even delicate plants. The same result 
is sometimes produced by burying lumps of lime 
around the tree, but not so certainly. For the 
woolly aphis on the trunk and branches, and we 
have known it to be so abundant, that little of the 
trunk could be seen—a number of remedies have 
been proposed. These are much like that hair 
“ invigorator ” the accompanying directions of 
which required the user to first brush the scalp 
