1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
521 
for ten minutes, then wet the brush with the stuff 
and rub for ten minutes more. The brushing did 
the work, and so would a dry brush, well applied, 
dispose of this plant-louse. Grease and sulphur ; 
soft soap, either by itself or mixed with sulphur 
and soot; sal-soda and turpentine, a pound of the 
one and a pint of the other, in ten gallons of water, 
have been recommended. These and similar ap¬ 
plications will do no harm, >f applied with the 
brush ; the brush by itself will probably be quite 
as effective. 
Cions :in<l Cuttings. 
There is a common impression that it makes no 
difference when cions or cuttings are taken, pro¬ 
vided it be done before the buds start in spring. 
Experiments have shown that this, while it may be 
true with some extremely hardy trees and shrubs, 
is not so with all, and that a much larger share of 
those cut in early winter than of those made to¬ 
wards spring succeed. There are many varie¬ 
ties of fruit which are barely hardy in our climate. 
These have the vitality of their buds much weak¬ 
ened by the cold weather, but if left upon the tree 
they recover, and no injury is manifest. If, how¬ 
ever, these buds (and the stem that holds them) be 
cut from the tree after they have been exposed 
during the winter, and used for grafting or as cut¬ 
tings, they often fail to grow. They appear to be 
exhausted by the exposure, and have not, as 
grafts, sufficient vigor to allow them to make that 
growth needed to form a union with the stock, or, 
as cuttings, strength enough to produce roots. It 
is safer, as a rule, to make cuttings or cions soon 
after the fall of the leaves, or before the cold be¬ 
comes severe. Cions should always be of the 
growth of the previous year, and from vigorous, 
healthy, bearing trees. Avoid all shoots that have 
made an excessive growth, as such are long-joint¬ 
ed, pithy, and with usually poorly developed buds ; 
also reject such as have fruit buds. If one is cut¬ 
ting cions of more than one variety, care must be 
taken to keep them apart. Cut a smooth place on 
the large end of one of the cions, and write the 
name of the variety with a pencil. Before storing 
them, they should be labelled in a manner that will 
be sure to be legible in spring. The best material 
for packing is sawdust; 6and or earth is often 
used, but the small particles adhering to them dull 
the knife of the grafter, while sawdust will not. 
Sphagnum or bog-moss is also a good material for 
packing. The material, whatever it may be, should 
be damp, but not wet. Keep the boxes containing 
the cions in a cellar where the temperature is but 
little above freezing. If in too warm a place, the 
buds will start and be spoiled. Should any be¬ 
come so dry as to shrivel the bark, they may usu¬ 
ally be restored by placing them in moist (not wet) 
earth for a few days. When the bark has become 
plump, and the wood looks bright and fresh when 
cut into, the cions may be used. 
Employment for Winter Evenings. 
As the days grow shorter the evenings lengthen 
correspondingly, and by the time this number of 
the American Agriculturist reaches the majority of 
its readers, the nights will be at their longest. 
Darkness and cold do not mean inactivity for the 
farmer. Because the sap is not moving rapidly in 
the orchard and forest trees, there is no reason 
that there should be a sluggishness in the current 
of the farmer’s thoughts. The crisp air ought to 
inspire the mind to greater activities, and together 
with the opportunities of comparative leisure, the 
winter season is the one for making a rich harvest 
of good ideas. The time is past when farming did 
not require much thought, and for this we may re¬ 
joice, as it means that a higher and better system 
of agriculture has come. The competition is now 
so sharp for the best grains and breeds of live 
stock, fruit and vegetables, that it pays any 
grower to take advantage of all the experience 
that others who ha'3 travelled the same road 
can give him. The various papers devoted to 
his calling furnish him with valuable hints and 
suggestions which he cannot afford to go without. 
But, perhaps, of no less value is the good to be de¬ 
rived from a personal interchange of ideas upon 
the leading agricultural problems that are being 
worked out in the neighborhood. In this we see 
abundant reason for the existence of a thriving 
farmers’ club in every school district throughout 
the country. It is a great pleasure to receive the 
printed programmes of various societies of this sort, 
in which the list of subjects for the winter’s con¬ 
sideration are set down, with, perhaps, the addi¬ 
tion of the leading speakers for each topic and 
meeting. We wish that thousands more of such 
clubs might be formed this winter. A farmers’ 
club is a very simple organization, and is not the 
monopoly of gifted minds. All that is needed 
is a little earnestness on the part of a few, and the 
society is formed and sustained without any diffi¬ 
culty. Let some of the winter evenings be spent 
in hearty and inspiring discussions at the club. 
Shall we Prime in Winter. 
There has been a vast amount of discussion as 
to the proper time for pruning; some insisting 
that it should not be done in winter, while others 
hold that the proper time is “ whenever your knife 
is 6harp.” There is one season especially in which 
pruning should not be done, viz.: during the period 
of active growth, from the time the buds start in 
spring, until buds for the next year are formed. 
Winter is preferred by many, as more time can be 
devoted to the w ork; and with the apple and pear, 
it probably does not make any difference at what 
period it is done between the fall of the leaf and 
the swelling of the buds in spring. It is not well 
to prune when the wood is frozen, as bad wounds 
and cracks may result. If young trees are taken 
in hand from the start, and proper attention given 
to forming the heads, there would be little need of 
severe pruning in the orchard. The too common 
method is, to plant an orchard and let it grow un¬ 
cared for. The trees, after they begin to bear, yield 
fair crops for a few years, and then, when they de¬ 
cline and fail, pruning is suggested as a remedy. 
Too often the pruuing is done by ignorant persons, 
and as a result, nearly as much wood is cut out as 
there is left. This great waste should be avoided. 
The labor of the tree, so to speak, expended to 
produce these numerous branches, should have 
been directed to the production of fruit, as it might 
have been had proper care been given to the 
orchard when young. The principles of pruning 
are readily understood, and one should never re¬ 
move a branch, large or small, without having 
some definite object in view. 
Wliat to do with tlie Bulbs. 
When a Hyacinth, Narcissus, or other Dutch bulb 
has once flowered it is useless to expect much 
from it the next year. The Holland growers, in 
order to get strong, vigorous bulbs, do not allow 
them to bloom, but cut away the flower-stems as 
soon as they appear. Bulbs that have had the best 
possible treatment in our beds and allowed to 
ripen well, though they will bloom the following 
year, will give flowers inferior to those first pro¬ 
duced. After they have once flowered in a show 
bed, we find that the best use to make of them is 
to set the bulbs in some part of the garden to sup¬ 
ply flowers for cutting. Bulbs in the house are 
either potted or made to bloom in glasses of water. 
Those who have purchased bulbs, do not like to 
thfow them away, and we are often asked what 
can be done with them after flowering. Those that 
have been in glasses of water may as well be 
thrown away at once, as the growth of leaves and 
flowers have exhausted the bulbs. The case is dif¬ 
ferent with those in pots; after the flowers have 
faded the stalk should be cut off, and then the 
pots may be placed at some light window and 
watered and cared for as long as the leaves remain 
green. When the leaves fade, let the earth dry; 
then take out the bulbs and the next autumn they 
may be planted in the reserve bed, as suggested 
for those that have flowered out of doors. 
An Appropriate Holiday Gift. 
We know of nothing so appropriate for a Christ¬ 
mas or a New Year’s present to a rural friend, as a 
year’s subscription to the American Agriculturist. 
It will not only instruct and entertain the recipient, 
but be a constant reminder through every month of 
the year, of the giver. You have only to send us the 
price of the yearly subscription, to wit: $1.50, and 
we will forward, if desired, a printed receipt to any 
person you may designate, stating that the year’s 
subscription to the paper is a present from you. 
See complete List of Premiums elsewhere. 
some are so short-lived that they can hardly be 
called annuals, others continue from year to year, 
and are truly perennial. These long-lived schemes 
sometimes present various stages of development, 
and it is interesting to compare their present with 
their former condition. Take for example 
“ Queer,” or Counterfeit Money. 
When the National Banking System, an out¬ 
growth of the war, first went into operation, the 
energies of a vast number of swindlers were at 
once directed towards offering counterfeit bills. 
There was no Counterfeit Money. 
The victim gave up his good money, received a 
lot of paper, and was at once hurried off out of the 
city, with injunctions not to open the parcel until 
he was safe at home, as detectives were watching 
him. Strange as it may seem, this fraud, which has 
for years been exposed in the papers, and some¬ 
times in the courts, still lives, and no douht finds 
its victims. We rarely hear of the cases, as the 
dupes keep quiet; few persons care to have it 
known that they endeavored to purchase counter¬ 
feit money. It is curious to observe the difference 
between the circular letters now sent out and those 
of several years ago. Instead of the long and 
half-blind letter, there is now sent a brief, compact 
note, which goes to business at once. One of the 
latest of these is as follows : 
“ New York City, 1882. 
“ Dear Sir —I desire the assistance of a shrewd 
man who can keep a secret and do business on the 
quiet, to exchange a certain kind of Bills which 
can be bought here at a large discount, and can 
easy be exchanged for their face value, any where. 
Should you feel inclined to go into a speculation 
of this kind please let me know at once, and I will 
send you full particulars, and also satisfy you that 
you are dealing with a genuine Firm, and not with 
one of the many humbug Firms, who represent, 
themselves to be in the same business. Hoping 
you will treat this strictly confidential and let me 
know at once if you desire to engage. 
Address D. It., New York.” 
“Patent Solicitor” Barrett. 
We owe Mr. Barrett, “ Attorney, Solicitor and 
Disposer of Patents,” an apology. When we ; 
several months ago stated that we had received 
complaints as to his manner of doing business, and 
that his name was given in the U. S. Postal Guide 
in the official list of “frauds,” we inadvertently 
gave his name as Barrit. As there is nothing more 
unpleasant to a sensitive person, than to be “called, 
out of his name,” as our Irish friends say, we,, 
though rather late, make our apologies for the er¬ 
ror, and admit that his name, as given in the official 
list of frauds and in some peculiar correspondence 
in our possession, is spelled, as the Elder Weller 
would say, with a h’e instead of a h'i.... Soon 
after our first teference to the performance of 
