50 
AMEEIOAIn ageioultueist, 
[February, 
The White Birch. 
It is surprisino- that the White Birch is so seldom 
seen in ornamental planting. Perhaps the abund¬ 
ance of the American variety in sonic localities has 
caused it to be regarded as too common. The 
preference for something from a distance, and 
costly, has caused many of our beautiful native 
trees and shrubs to be unwisely neglected. The 
White Birch has several varieties; the Poplar-leaved 
{Betula alba var. populifolia), which was at one 
time regarded as distinct, is common from Maine 
to Pennsylvania, es¬ 
pecially near the 
coast. Our variety 
differs from the com¬ 
mon White Birch of 
Europe {B. alba) in 
its more distinctly 
ti’iangular leaves, 
and in being a mucli 
smaller tree; it is 
seldom over tvventy 
or thirty feet high, 
while the other 
reaches sixty or 
eighty feet. In all 
the varieties the 
bark is of a chalky 
whiteness, and the 
slender branches and 
small leaves give the 
tree a peculiar light 
and airy appearance. 
Its graceful habit 
has caused it to be 
called “ the Lady of 
theWoods.” One va¬ 
riety, the Cut-leaved 
Weeping Birch, is 
especially beautiful; 
its branches are more 
pendulous than the 
others, while the 
deeply cut or lobed 
foliage is exceeding¬ 
ly light and open. 
One point in favor 
of these trees is, 
they all flourish in 
the poorest soils, 
though the}’ grow 
faster in rich ones. 
Our native variety, 
so seldom used in 
planting, shows with 
fine effect wlien seen 
in contrast with the 
oaks and other trees 
having heavy, mas¬ 
sive foliage. As a 
fuel,the White Birch 
does not rank high, 
but it makes excel¬ 
lent charcoal. On 
account of its rapid growth, and the fact that 
it will thrive almost anywhere, there may be locali¬ 
ties too poor to yield better fuel, on which this 
may be profitably planted. It is propagated by seed. 
The Grape-Seed Insect. 
Mr. H. D. Stewart, Perry Co., Pa., sends us a 
quantity of grape seeds, in each one of which is a 
small grub. This is not a new pest of the vine¬ 
yard, having been diseovered in 1868, but it has 
seldom prevailed to any serious extent. The in¬ 
fested berries usually shrivel in midsummer, after 
which the swollen seeds arc found to contain plump 
white grubs with brown jaws. The grubs change 
to ciirysaiids in the following spring, and the ma¬ 
ture fly escapes through a hole in the seed in early 
summer. These flies are iilack. and less than a 
quarter of an inch long. Tlic females deposit 
their eggs upon the skin of the grape, and the 
young grubs work their way into the immature 
seeds soon after hatching. The best remedy yet 
suggested is to gather and burn the shrivelled fruit. 
Early Spring Work. 
JOHN 31. STAHL. 
“The earlybird catches tlie worm;” as a gen¬ 
eral rule the early farmer makes the money. The 
one who has his oats first sown, his potatoes first 
planted, his ground first ready for the corn, his 
garden vegetables first in properly prepared 
ground ; in short, who is the earliest in his work in 
its season, is the farmer who raises the largest 
crops and makes the most money ; and with good 
reason. He drives his work instead of being driven 
by it, and has time for doing it well. His products 
being early sell for a better price. Early vegeta¬ 
bles, early poultry, early lambs and calves, always 
command the highest figures. His corn, wheat, 
oats, potatoes, vegetables, etc., have the entire 
season for growing and maturing. But this early 
work requires earlier planning and preparation. 
At tiie far South, garden and field o;)erations begin 
this month. Further North a good deal may be 
done even now. Let us enumerate, by way of re¬ 
minder, some of the many things to be done or 
thought about before the time comes for action : 
Corn stubble may be speedily broken down 
while yet frozen, by dragging over the field a long 
pole with a horse hitched to each end. The ma¬ 
nure may be hauled to the field over the ground 
while yet frozen, and no ruts will be made by the 
wagon ivhcels. Plows and harrows may be re¬ 
paired at home, and taken to the shop to be sharp¬ 
ened. Harness may be cleaned and oiled ; fields 
laid off into “lands” for plowing; washouts be 
filled; seed corn shelled and seed oats well 
cleaned in the barn while it is yet cold and stormy 
outside. Drags, roller.?, cultivators and seeders 
may be looked after and got ready for use. Such 
little things as whifiie-trees, chains, oil cans and 
water jugs should be gathered and stored where 
they can be reached at once. Spades, shovels,, 
hoes, forks, etc., should be brightened, sharpened, 
and repaired, if in need of it. The mow may be 
filled from the hay stacks. The summer’s supply 
of wood should, by all means, be cut and stored 
under cover. Rails, posts, or boards for repairing 
fences may be hauled to their places, and the wood 
lot cleared up. The farm should be well supplied 
with gates, and now is a good time to make and 
hang them, or have them ready for hanging. Set 
the ash leach; smoke and store away the year’s 
supply of pork ; strengthen water fences and gates 
for the spring freshets. Pile and burn rubbish, and 
haul out fhe chip dirt. Repair the fences blown 
down by winds, or torn down by stock. Look after 
the well and pump, and clean the cistern ready for 
tlie spring rains. Remove garbage thoroughly 
from the cellar. Clean out the poultry-house and 
have new nests made. Have the yard tidied up. 
Pry or blow out stumps and clear off new ground 
ready for the plow ; take out or bury large stones. 
Clean off the garden ; take the dead canes out of 
curiants, gooseberries, raspberries and blackber¬ 
ries ; trim the grape vines; cart manure on the- 
ground; start early vegetables in hot-beds; select 
seeds, and buy any needed; select potatoes for- 
planting ; and look after the asparagus and straw-' 
berry beds. Grub out orchard trees that the win¬ 
ter has killed ; prune, and pile and burn limbs re¬ 
moved ; cover with wax any wounds made by rab¬ 
bits or mice. Scrub down the orchard trees with 
suds from the week’s washing. Scale the dead 
bark off of old trees. Manure the soil. Look after 
the bees. Trim osage orange hedges and burn 
the brush, See that you have good cocks in the 
poultry yard. Provide for coming calves and pigs. 
In short, do spring work at the earliest possible^ 
moment, and endeavor to do it a little earlier than 
ever before. There will be plenty of work left 
when spring does come. The more time, the more 
thorough preparation of the soil for crops ; and the 
more thorough its preparation the better the crops. 
Much time may be saved by having things ready. 
One should not have to hunt whiffle-trees, repair 
harness and implements, have plows sharpened, or 
go to borrow, in the spring—have everything ready. 
California Dairy Statistics. 
In connection with our special correspondent’s: 
account of Dairying in California (page 48), we havfr 
compiled a table of census statistics of the State and 
its leading dairy counties. In this we have intro¬ 
duced for comparison some figures of New York 
State (by far the largest dairy State), and of four of 
its leading butter and cheese counties. In cheese 
production California ranks second in the Union,, 
but falls to sixteenth in its yield of butter, and to- 
twenty-second in its number of milch cows.. 
This table is as follows : 
Milch 
coivs. 
Numb. 
Butter. 
Pounds. 
Cheese. 
Pounds. 
Butter efc 
cheese,lbs. 
lbs. 
per* 
cow. 
tTnlted States.. 
12,443,120 
777,250,287 
27,272,489 
804,522,776 
65 
New York. 
1,437,855 
111,922,423 
8,362,590 
120,285,013 
84 
Delaware Co... 
Otsego “ ... 
57,673 
7,732,028 
25,898 
7,757,926 
185 
48,827 
4,578,784 
404,626 
4,983,410 
102 
Herkimer" ... 
48,237 
1,402,922 
2,862,334 
4,265,256 
88 
Steuben “ ... 
37,254 
3,886,985 
138,830 
4,025,815 
108 
California 
210,078 
14,084,405 
2,566,618 
16,651,023 
7^ 
Marin Co... 
24,698 
2,507,888 
65,100 
2,573,488 
104 
Sonoma “ ... 
18,336 
1,893,523 
217,800 
2,113,883 
115* 
S.b.Obis. “ ... 
13,177 
1,148.028 
198,8.50 
',346,878 
102 
Humboldt" 
10,489 
993,258 
14.137 
1,CC7,3P5 
96 
S. Clara “ ... 
9,1,58 
450,370 
788,4.50 
1,188,820 
ISO 
Sacrain. “ ... 
7,4?4 
539,339 
182.C70 
721,409 
97 
S. Mateo “ ... 
6,691 
283,031 
288,215 
571,246 
85 
Monterey “ ... 
5,690 
557,516 
119,000 
676,516 
110 
S. Cruz "... 
3,445 
330,060 
102,500 
452,500 
131 
S. Benito “ ... 
2,712 
120,410 
173,320 
293,730 
108 
Del Norte “ ... 
2,189 
248,950 
57,800 
300,250 
137 
It will be noted that as in New York, Dela¬ 
ware and Herkimer counties for example, one sec- 
THE WHITE 'BlIiCH,—Engraved for the American Agricultm'isL 
