1880.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
455 
Young Stock need not be housed until real cold 
weather sets in, but they should have a warm shed 
jo lie in at nigut, and be kept in first-rate condition 
through this month with turnips, fed tops and all. 
Sheep bear more exposure than any other of our 
domestic animals (not even excepting horses, not 
worked) that is, exposure to the weather, but not 
without shelter from storms. The ewes ought to 
be in lamb by this time, and must be kept doing 
well. Half a pint of corn a day each will go far 
towards keeping them in good condition. Weed 
out all those which show signs of -weakness, have 
poor teeth, etc., and fatten them if you can. 
Pigs.— It is much better to kill early than late. As 
soon as cold weather comes on, pigs will gain very 
little, if any, and often lose during cold storms. 
Therefore, crowd them if not fat enough to kill. 
Feed occasionally pulverized charcoal, to keep their 
digestive functions in tone ; keep them clean and 
warm, and coax them to eat every ounce possible. 
Poultry need to be treated much in the same way. 
That is, fattened and killed early, if intended for 
market. Though prices usually go up steadily after 
the first of January, yet the additional cost of fat¬ 
tening in December, or of holding poultry after it 
is fat, is but rarely paid for by the higher price. 
Warm quarters are essential to winter laying. 
Notes on Orchard and Garden Work. 
This month brings .the orchardist and gardenerto 
the close of one year’s work, and to the beginning 
•f another. While he is occupied with the storing 
and sale of the crops that have been gathered this 
season, he must lay plans, and make preparations 
for the season and the crops to come. The spring 
is short and the work then to be done so great, 
that it is the most hurried season of the year. This 
shortness and pressure of spring time is in a mea¬ 
sure compensated for by the comparative length 
and leisure of autumn, which allows one to do 
much of the so-called “ spring work ” well in ad¬ 
vance. So gradual is the approach of winter that 
frequently the work suited to October may be car¬ 
ried on until well in December, in which case the 
Motes about fall work given in Oetober apply with 
•qual force during the present and next month. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Fall Planting. —Late October and early November 
are often very favorable to the planting of trees. 
The soil is still warm from the accumulated heat of 
summer ; it is rarely too dry, and if properly drained 
not too wet. If in planting we cut, as we should, 
every broken root back to a sound place, in a 6hort 
time these roots will have overcome the bad effects 
of the removal, and will be ready for vigorous 
growth in the spring. South of 40°, in most years, 
planting may be done during the greater part of 
the year without any injury to the newly set trees. 
Young Trees planted this fall, or even last spring, 
should have earth drawn up around them, making a 
mound 12 to 18 inches high. This mound of earth 
should be free from sods, and weeds, and will serve 
the double purpose of a support to the trees against 
the winds, and prevent the mice from gnawing them. 
Braining. —Water should not be allowed to col¬ 
lect on the surface; a few furrows in the right 
place will carry it away rapidly. Underdraining, 
to be the best and most economical, should be all 
finished up before hard freezing weather sets in. 
Cions may be cut as soon as the leaves fall, and 
should be packed in saw dust or sand, and kept 
in a cool place. Select only from thrifty trees of 
the best varieties. If you do not have them it 
is better to buy than to use second rate stock. 
Labels upon trees should be looked to, that they 
do not get losj; or become illegible. The old kind 
of pine label, marked with lead pencil while a coat 
of white paint is fresh upon it, is about the best. 
Zinc strips are used and preferred by some. 
Seeds of Trees for planting in the spring are best 
preserved in boxes of sand, the boxes being kept 
in a cool and dry place, out of the reach of mice. 
Stocks for Root Grafting. —The grafting of roots 
is done during the winter and the stocks should be 
in a handy place. Take up the stocks before the 
ground freezes, assort and tie them in bundles, after¬ 
wards put in boxes, and place them in the cellar. 
Rabbits if left to themselves can do much harm. 
A protection of the trees may be made of lath, or 
tarred paper may be tied about the trunk with fine 
wire. Smearing the trees with blood will keep 
away the rabbits, as meat is very distasteful to 
them. A fat rabbit in November is good eating, 
and a small bounty will induce the boys to trap and 
otherwise secure many of these injurious animals. 
Manuring. —The orchard needs to be fed as well 
as any other field when a yearly crop is removed. 
Circumstances will determine the kind of manure 
to use. That from the stable is always in order; 
good bone, ashes, green crops turned under, are 
all of great value, and one or more should be used. 
Keeping Fruit. —The cellar of the house, if pos¬ 
sible, should not be used for storing large quan¬ 
tities of fruit, but if used there should be ample 
ventilation to carry oil the carbonic acid produced 
by the ripening fruit. A uniform temperature of 
about 40°, or just safely above freezing, accompa¬ 
nied with a dry atmosphere, is the best. Pears 
should be stored in drawers where they can be in¬ 
spected occasionally. Apples, if properly picked 
and packed in barrels, ought to keep uudisturbed. 
Make all Snug for Winter. —Clear up all rubbish 
in the orchard_Pick up the refuse fruit and feed 
to the pigs, that the contained insects may be de¬ 
stroyed. ...Fences and gates, especially of young 
orchards, need to be cattle proof at all seasons. 
Tlie Fruit Garden. 
Currants and Gooseberries. —The material used in 
the propagation of currants and gooseberries are 
the pieces removed from the bushes at the time of 
pruning. The bushes should be pruned so soon as 
the leaves fall—a month or 60 ago—though many 
put it off until much later. In making the currant 
cuttings, use only the growth of the present year, 
cutting it into six-inch lengths. The cuttings 
should be set quite close together inboxes of earth, 
the soil being deep enough to allow the cuttings to 
be two-thirds beneath its surface. The boxes are 
to be set in the cellar and kept dry during the win¬ 
ter, and in the spring the cuttings should be put 
in trenches four inches apart in the rows. 
Blackberries and Raspberries. —The dead stems 
were cut away soon after the berries were off. If 
not done then, through neglect, do it now, and tie 
up the new canes for the winter. Tender varieties 
must be covered this month. This may be done 
rapidly by two meu, one bending the canes down 
in the direction of the row, while the other throws 
earth upon them, either in sufficient amount or 
only to hold them down for the covering plow soon 
to follow. New plants of raspberries and black¬ 
berries are usually supplied by suckers, allowed to 
grow for the purpose. Roots may be cut from the 
old plants without injury. These root-cuttings, 
three or four inches in length, are then placed in 
layers, in boxes of earth, and stored in the cellar. 
The cuttings are set in open ground in early spring. 
Grapes. —The sooner the grape vines are pruned, 
after the leaves are off, the better. Young vines, 
set last spring, should bear one or two shoots—if 
the present growth is half an inch thick, two shoots 
may be left. Cut the vines back to three buds or 
so, leaving extra ones to provide against accident. 
There is no rule for pruning old vines ; the con¬ 
dition of each vine must determine it. Leave 
enough buds to produce sufficient shoots to bear 
leaves and fruit clusters. The buds left after prun¬ 
ing represent the new growth of next year. The 
cuttings are made from the prunings, and should 
have two buds at least; tie them in bundles, label, 
and cover in earth in the cellar. Many varieties, 
like the Concord, grow rapidly from such cuttings, 
when planted in the open ground in spring ; others, 
with harder wood, as the Delaware, are best raised 
in propagating houses with special care. 
Strawberry plants should be covered before freez¬ 
ing weather sets in. Straw, salt o, marsh hay, or 
leaves may be used, placing the material thicMy 
between the plants, but only lightly directly over 
the plants, as too much covering smothers them. 
Kitchen and Market Garden. 
Should the present month be a mild one, many of 
the October Notes will be seasonable now, and to 
avoid repetition we refer the reader to them. In a 
nutshell: Do now whatever the weather will permit. 
So soon as a crop is off plow up the soil and leave 
it without harrowing, as the exposure of the ridged 
surface to the weather improves its texture. 
Asparagus. —Cut and burn the tops and give the 
bed a generous covering of well rotted manure. 
Celery should be dug and stored before the ground 
freezes hard. A trench is dug in a dry place, a 
foot or so in width, and deep enough to bring the 
tops on a level with the soil. Place the plants in 
it close side by side with no earth between. Cover 
slightly with straw or leaves, and as the cold in¬ 
creases add more covering until it is a foot thick. 
Boards may be put over the straw, lengthwise of 
the trench, to keep out the rain, and make it easier 
to get at the celery if there is snow on the ground. 
Cabbages may be left out until heavy frosts come, 
when they should be pulled and placed heads down 
in rows, and the heads covered with a few inches 
of earth. A plow may be used in covering them ; 
two furrows being turned over the heads, doing 
most of the work. For a small lot a common 
method is, to dig a trench in a dry place, set the 
cabbages in the trench, close together, and cover 
at first with a little straw. As the weather gets 
colder put on more straw, and as the winter sets in 
complete the covering with more straw and a layer 
of boards over the whole. Soft cabbages, if planted 
in this way, will come out in fine condition. 
Parsnips. —A portion for present use may be dug 
and stored in sand in the cellar, the rest can remain 
in the ground as freezing improves them. 
Parsley may be grown for winter use in the kitch¬ 
en where there is no greenhouse, by means of a keg 
with a number of holes bored in its side. A crown 
of parsley is put at each hole, the roots extending 
into the sand inside the keg, while the tops grow 
out of the holes. Place the keg in a sunny window, 
and properly watered it will give a supply of parsley 
and make a cheerful kitchen ornament besides. 
Carrots and Beets should be dug before they have 
been frozen, and stored in the cellar or root pit. 
Turnips are not much injured by frosts, and may 
be left until all of the more tender garden vegeta¬ 
bles are cared for, after which they should be dug 
and pitted, or put in the vegetable cellar. 
Cellars containing roots should be kept cool or 
the roots will 6hrivel and lose much of their fresh- 
A BOOT CELLAR WITH BARRELS. 
ness. Where the roots are put in small pits, it is 
convenient to use barrels, as shown in the engraving. 
Cold Frames are for protecting the plants in a 
dormant state through the winter—not f or growing 
them. The sashes should not be put on until the 
freezing weather sets in. Tilt up the sashes when¬ 
ever the temperature of outside will permit this, 
giving a circulation of pure air among the plants. 
Flower Garden anti Lawn. 
The Lawn should go into winter quarters with a 
good length of grass to serve as a mulch and pro¬ 
tection. If manure is used as a top dressing, only 
that which is thoroughly composted and free from 
seeds of weeds should be applied. It may be put 
on at any convenient time during fall or winter. 
Leaves. —The lawn and paths should be raked 
after the leaves have fallen, and the litter thus 
gathered used for protecting tender plants. This 
raking improves the looks of the grounds as 
well as secures a valuable covering for plants. 
