1880 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
129 
still greater ones. The time of planting of course 
varies with the latitude, and these remarks apply 
when corn-planting is in season. 
Grass .—With a doubled yield of corn and pro¬ 
ductive crops of roots, more land can be laid down 
to grass. The cheapest and the most essential 
product of the soil is grass. The better the system 
of agriculture the better will be the grass produced. 
Orchard grass for dry soils, and Red-top for low 
land are now thought more of than heretofore. A 
study of the character and value of the best 
grasses and their cultivation and protection is now 
of great importance. “Flint’sGrasses and Forage 
Crops ” is a useful book for this purpose. • 
Seeding to Glover .—Clover seed sown this month 
will do well in many localities, if scattered upon 
ground previously harrowed with a smoothing har¬ 
row, which passes over the grain without injury, 
and fertilized with a light top-dressing of fertilizer. 
Soiling Crops .—The first cutting of green fodder 
is winter rye, that which is first cut will make a 
second growth that can be cut in June. An early 
sowing of oats, oats and peas, or oats and barley, 
should be made this month for cutting after clover. 
Soiling crops are sown in succession weekly, so as 
to have succulent fodder continuously. 
Potatoes .—As the old favorites, the Peach Blow, 
Mercer, and others, gradually failed and run out, 
so our newer favorite, Early Rose, seems doomed, 
as a field crop. Unfortunately we cannot as yet 
lay our hands upon a perfect substitute. Some 
promising new varieties are offered which are 
worthy of trial. One of them is mentioned on 
page 148. As a rule seed procured from a northern 
locality yields better than home grown seed. 
Live Stock .—The coat is now changed and good 
brushing or carding helps the shedding of the 
hair by stimulating the skin. 
Medicines are to be avoided as a rule, excepting 
in extreme cases. “Spring physicing” is an old 
notion which should rest with our ancestors. If 
due attention has been given to feeding and general 
care, stock will come out in good order after their 
season of dry feeding and confinement 
Horses .—When hard work commences, dry food 
will be needed. It hardens the muscles and pre¬ 
vents excessive perspiration. The skin, tender 
from long rest, is easily chafed and galled. Cold 
water and Veterinary Cosmoline will keep galls in 
check and heal raw spots. Clean, soft harness, pre¬ 
vents galls. Shoes that have been long on ought 
to be removed, and in paring the hoof let no knife 
touch the frog. It will wear away fast enough. 
Com .—Garget and abortion trouble the dairy¬ 
men. We believe in prevention. The former may 
surely be prevented by due care. As soon as the 
udder contains milk, it should be relieved by draw¬ 
ing off a part of it, if there is any tendency to hard¬ 
ness. These diseases are often a consequence of 
weakness. A fat animal may be weak for want of 
food. When a cow’s time approaches and the feed 
is suddenly reduced, disturbance of the system is 
caused. Circulation becomes irregular, and con¬ 
gestion occurs in the most susceptible organs. The 
udder is the principal one of these at this period, 
and an attack of garget is very sure to occur. 
This may not always be so, but long experience 
and observation convinces us that it generally is. 
The remedy is obvious. 
Sheep and Lambs .—As lambs grow and thrive, 
ewes suffer. All the growth of the lamb comes 
from the ewe. The suggestion should carry its 
own moral, viz., feed theewe. There is no food so 
nourishing for a lamb as the dam’s milk, and plenty 
of it produces the finest lambs. Cow’s milk may 
do for a store lamb, but not for a market lamb. 
Ticks will become troublesome and fret the flock. 
The use of a strong decoction of Tobacco will 
destroy these pests. 
Swine .—Corn is high, but so is freight, and as 800 
lbs. of corn may be carried in a pork barrel, it is a 
question if it will not pay to feed 50 cent com to 
4 cent pigs. Every bushel of corn fed relieves the 
market of a surplus, and makes the remainder more 
salable. This is to he considered. Also the fact 
that there is a kind of pig that may be fed the most 
profitably and that one kind is the one to discover 
and choose. Hereafter farmers will save their profits 
in all probability, just as is done in other manufac¬ 
turing business. Animals are living farm machines. 
Poultry .—Vermin run riot among the poultry and 
many poor fowls die of diseases caused by the con¬ 
stant worriment of lice and fleas. As the weather 
grows warm this is to be looked after, and the flock 
freed from the pests. Free use of kerosene oil or 
crude petroleum, about the roosts and crevices of 
the nests, and clean earth in the runs and houses 
will effect a deliverance. 
Machinery .—After the winter’s rest an overhauling 
of the machines will be proper. Dust and rust 
should be cleaned off, and oil and tallow used 
liberally. It should be understood that there is more 
wear from rust than from use, with farm machinery. 
Notes on Orchard and Garden Work. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Whoever sets out an orchard of course does it 
with the expectation of a return in fruit. No one 
plants corn or potatoes without first considering if 
the land will give him a crop ; if the soil is not in 
the proper condition he knows that he must make 
it so, or lose his seed and his labor. Much less 
than com and potatoes can fruit trees make a crop 
on nothing. The trees will straggle along, do the 
best they can, but such orchards do not pay, and 
“run out ” early. Unless the land is sufficiently fer¬ 
tile for an ordinary farm crop, it should be made 
so; no soil too wet for such crops will answer for 
fruit trees, which, to succeed, need well drained 
land. The plowing should be as deep as the 
character of the soil will allow, and the sub-soil 
plow may generally follow the other with benefit. 
The Trees .—It is assumed that trees were ordered 
some time ago ; they should be at hand ready for 
planting. It is the custom at nurseries to take up 
and heel-in a large stock of the kinds of trees most 
called for, this retards the growth, and allows them 
to fill late orders. If there is a nursery near at 
hand it will pay to make a bargain, if possible, to 
help dig the trees yourself, and thus secure a larger 
share of the roots that belong to them. If trees, in 
a long journey, become dry and shriveled, bury 
them, root and branch, in mellow earth for a few 
days, when they become plump again. In unpack¬ 
ing the trees, look to the labels, as some may be¬ 
come detached and would otherwise be lost. 
Laying Out .—In staking out the ground take 
care to have the trees in true rows. Put all of the 
same variety together, and if there are many kinds 
make a planting chart showing the position of each. 
Preparing the Trees .—Everybody wishes to get 
all he can for the money, and the nurserymen send 
much larger tops to the trees than the pruned roots 
in their new positions can support. It is safe to 
shorten the branches one-third or one-half, but it 
should be done with judgment and reference to 
the condition of the roots. At the same time 
pare smooth any broken or mangled roots. 
Planting.— In setting a tree take time to do it prop¬ 
erly; spread the roots evenly and to their full 
length, and so work in the soil among them that 
there will be no hollow places. Water may be used 
to carry the soil among the roots—not dashed in by 
the pailful, but showered from a watering-pot. 
Do not stamp the soil down around the roots, but 
firm it carefully with the foot. The tree should be 
set no deeper than it stood in the nursery. 
Crops .—The soil of a young orchard may be kept 
in cultivation until the trees begin to bear ; grain 
should never be grown, except Indian corn, but 
potatoes and root-crops are the best. 
Grafting .—A tree that is of a poor or worthless 
sort should be renovated by grafting. This can be 
done this month ; for full particulars with illustra¬ 
tions of the process see the February number. 
Cions should have been cut early, but may be se¬ 
cured until the buds start. Many nurserymen cut 
a stock of cions of all the leading varieties in ad¬ 
vance, and can supply them by mail or otherwise. 
Root-Grafts .—Those who would start an orchard 
at a very small outlay, can begin with root-grafts. 
These are roots in which grafts are set; the work 
is done in the winter and the grafted roots kept in 
boxes of earth until they can be set out in spring. 
Many nurserymen offer these for sale, and they are 
the cheapest form in which trees can be bought. 
They are to be set 2 feet apart, in rows distant 
enough to work with a cultivator, and put in with 
a dibble so deep that only the top bud is above 
ground. Keep them well cultivated, and 90 per 
cent, or more, should be thrifty young trees in au¬ 
tumn. In 2 or 4 years, according to the variety, 
they will be large enough to set in the orchard. 
Insects.— Destroy the eggs of the Tent Caterpillar, 
which are to be found in small closely fitting rings 
or bands near the ends of the smaller twigs, and 
may be cut away. Many insects harbor beneath 
the loose bark of trees, and by scraping this off 
and washing the trunk and limbs with a solution of 
soft soap, much good may be done. To prevent 
the ascent of the wingless females of the Canker 
Worm, use heavy brown paper bound closely around 
the tree’s trunk, and then smear with cheap print¬ 
er’s ink or tar. The bands will have to be re-coated 
at frequent intervals through the season. 
Fruit Garden. 
Those having the planting of small fruits still to 
do, will find hints in last month’s Notes. 
Currants and Gooseberries .—Prune at once any 
that have been omitted; abundant manuring and 
mulching will increase the size of the crop and the 
fruit. So soon as the leaves are of much size the 
“ worms ” may be expected. Examine the under 
surface of the lower leaves for the eggs, and de¬ 
stroy all that are found. When holes are seen in 
the leaves apply White Hellebore, either sprinkled 
dry or mixed in water, a tablespoonful or so to a 
pailful of water. It is better to first scald the 
Hellebore with a little boiling water before adding it 
to the pail containing the cold water. Keep stirred. 
Strawberries receive treatment on page 149. 
Grapes .—Vines can still be planted and should 
be set out by all who have a spare comer on the 
place, as along a fence, or by the side of a shed. 
Under ordinary care a few vines will give an abund¬ 
ance of nice fruit in its season, and every farmer 
should feel that he has a place for a few grape 
vines. See the article on page 149. 
Kitchen and Market Garden. 
Cold Frames .—The plants from these are to be set 
out so soon as the soil is ready, and the sashes used 
on other frames to push forward a crop of lettuce, 
which latter, when out of the way, is to be followed 
by cucumbers—thus making the most out of the 
investment in glass. At this season the frames 
should have an abundance of fresh air, and while 
generally open during the day, they must be shut 
at night and in cold days. 
Window Boxes may be placed out of doors on 
warm days to harden off plants ; they may be left 
out overnight when not cold enough to chill them. 
Sowing Seeds .—The plants of the vegetable gar¬ 
den are divided into two general classes, hardy and 
tender. For a list of each and their treatment, see 
last month’s Notes. 
A Marker can be easily made from a piece of 
scantling for the head piece into which the handles 
and pegs are fastened. The pegs may be 9 inches 
apart on one side and 12 on the other. A line is 
used as a guide in making the first rows, after 
which, by allowing the outside peg to run in an old 
mark, all the rows may be straight. 
Greens were so fully treated last month, page 104, 
that it need only be referred to here. 
Asparagus .—The old ideas about the elaborate 
preparation for an asparagus bed are out of date ; 
it is as easy to make a bed for asparagus as almost 
any other plant, and nothing pays any better for 
the little trouble. Set the new beds so soon as the 
plants can be had, giving it a generous manuring, 
and putting the crowns about four inches below the 
surface. Rows 2 feet apart, with a foot between 
the plants, is a good distance for the family garden, 
but if room can be spared the distance may be in¬ 
creased. Let the plants grow until the third year 
