1884.] 
A.MEEI0A1N AGEICULTERIST. 
3 
abunJant. If possible use a pure-bred boar. As a 
rule it is not the most profitable to raise pure-bred 
swine for the pork barrel or for the market either. 
PoM?<ry.—Unless the house be warm and the food 
wholesome and abundant, the bens will furnish 
very few eggs. The birds enjoy the winter sunshine. 
Work i'll tke Horticultural Departmeuts. 
A Word to Fanners.—IhA for cultivators “ Sum¬ 
mer is the time for work ; winter the time for read¬ 
ing and thought,” is none the less true because 
said many times before. When an author says: 
“There are no acres which the farmer can cultivate 
Avith so much profit as those within the boundaries 
of his brain,” it is a striking way of stating it, but 
it means the same old story, “ Now that you have 
leisure, read and think.” It may be asked: “ What 
shall we think about ?” W^e address these notes to 
farmers rather than to horticulturists. The first 
point for every farmer in the older parts of the 
country to settle is this : Am I making the most 
of my land ? It is an accepted fact that those near 
cities and large manufacturing towns cannot afford 
to raise ordinary farm crops. All the centres of 
dense population afford markets for other produce 
than corn, wheat, oats, etc., and it is the interest 
of every farmer in such localities to ask and ascer¬ 
tain how he can turn his acres to the greatest 
profit ? These winter months should allow abun¬ 
dant time for answering the question. What shall I 
grow ? There are three principal kinds of culture 
that may be undertaken by farmers who find a 
change desirable. Orcharding, small fruit grow¬ 
ing, and the raising of vegetables or farm garden¬ 
ing. Each of these, especially the last two, afford 
products that meet with a ready sale wherever a 
large population is concentrated. If orchai’ding is 
decided upon, let the trees, whether apples, pears, 
peaches, etc., be of the early varieties, and those 
kinds in demand which cannot be transported from 
long distances. If small fruits are to be grown, 
study up the subject, and select varieties that will 
cover the Avhole season. If vegetable raising, usu¬ 
ally the easiest for most farmers, ascertain the de¬ 
mands of the market, and arrange to meet them. 
There is nothing about either of these cultures that 
cannot be mastered by any farmer of fair intelli¬ 
gence. It is safe to say that by devoting his land to 
either, he can, after deducting all extra expenses, 
more then double the return per acre than he can 
get from any of the farm crops proper. Every 
farmer near a market should take up this matter 
seriously, and be ready to make the best use of the 
advantages of his location. The books and 
periodicals in each department afford a sufficient 
guide to those who Avould take a new departure. 
Oi'Clia,i’4l mid. I 
The First Buty Here is to take care of what we 
have. See that fences and gates are secure. In 
those unfortunate localities where animals are 
“free commoners”—allowed to run in the road, 
these half-starved four-legged tramps will take ad- ' 
vantage of deep snows and go over an ordinary 
fence to browse upon the twigs of, an orchard. 
Babbits and Mice wiil continue to do misehief. 
When the snow is deep and has a slight crust, rab¬ 
bits can reach the lower branches of trees and 
prune them after a “ system” not given in the 
books. Traps and shot guns will convert a nui¬ 
sance into a savory dinner. Rubbing the trunks of 
young trees with fresh meat or smearing them with 
blood will keep off rabbits. Pack the snow while 
light around the base of the trees, to repel mice. 
Fruit in the Cellar of the dwelling.—Open the win¬ 
dows whenever there is no danger of freezing. The 
ventilation is important to the inmates, and low 
temperature prolongs the keeping of the fruit. 
Planting next Spring. —If fruit trees are to be set 
out next spring, much of the work may be done 
now—upon paper; make apian of the orchard, se¬ 
lect the varieties and indicate the place for each. 
In choosing fruit for market, have but few kinds. 
Boot-Grafting in nurseries is carried on now, the 
stocks and scions being placed under cover last fall. 
A Great 31istaks is made by growers of small 
fruits who send all their produce to New York,or 
other city market.’, ignoring the local markets, 
which as a rule pay much the best. 
Preparation for Planting. —The whole subject 
should be thorouglily considered and selections 
made, recollecting that choice varieties for home 
use, are not always the most profitable for market. 
Every Farmer., whether he markets fruit or not, 
should have an abundant supply of small fruits, all 
that the family, no matter how large, can eat, from 
the earliest strawberry to the last grape. Not only 
will they conduce to health, but will greatly help 
to make farm life acceptable to young people. The 
cost for a start need not be large, and when one has 
a few plants they may be readily increased. 
Kitclicii a.ii4l Market ^warden. 
Though the season prevents outside work with 
most of our readers, there is no month when some¬ 
thing may not be done to save time in spring. 
A Gardener's Faith in the return of “seed-time 
and harvest,” is shown by the large amount of la¬ 
bor and expense he puts forth; before results can be 
secured. His work is largely one of preparation. 
Much can be done now to save time in the busy 
days of spring. The successful gardeners are those 
whose preparatory work is most complete. The 
most important work of the garden at this season is: 
The Accumulation of Alanure. —Manure is, “ first, 
last, and all the time,” the foundation of profitable 
gardening. While all else is dormant, the heap of 
fertilizing material should be growing. All home 
sources should be made the most of. Horses 
should, if possible, be bedded with leaves, for the 
sake of the manure pile. If cattle are fed on corn 
fodder, by all means cut it, if not for the good of 
the animals, at least for that of the manure. Ar¬ 
range to have the chamber slops, and all kitchen 
refuse not needed by pigs or poultry, go to the pile. 
The Poultry House is an important source of 
manure. It should be cleaned at least once a week. 
If the fowds are numerous and the room small, a 
daily cleaning will pay in the benefit to the fowls. 
The droppings may be added to the manure heap, 
or kept separate in a dry place for special crops. 
Manure from Outside must usually be purchased 
by market gardeners. It is well to contract for the 
ydar with livery stables and others. Whenever a 
load of “ truck ” goes to market, the wagon should 
bring back a load of manure of some kind. 
Fei'tiliidng Materials, other than from the stable, 
are to be had in all large towns. Where there is a 
brewery, the spent hops, regarded as valuable as 
stable manure, should be secured. The refuse of 
tanneries and slaughterhouses will makeavaluable 
addition to the heap. Wherever there are manu¬ 
facturers of horn, bone, or whalebone, secure the 
refuse and look into the value of other wastes. 
The Manure Pile should be so large that it can 
not get chilled through. When it becomes hot, it 
must be turned to prevent burning or “ fire-fang- 
ing.” Build up the heap anew, breaking up all 
lumps, and in such a manner that the outside por¬ 
tions will be on the Inside of the new heap. 
Other Preparatory Matters. —Overhaul and repair 
the tools and implements, and have duplicates of 
parts liable to wear out or break, such as plow 
points, cultivator teetli, etc. If more sashes are 
needed for hot-beds, purchase them in ample time. 
Home-Made Appliances. —Markers of various sizes 
should be made. A good wooden reel for the gar¬ 
den line, is better than the poor iron ones usually 
sold. Make a stock of window boxes for sowing 
seeds in the house, and provide a stock of flats, etc. 
Flats or Shallow Boxes, are much used for sowing 
seeds to be started in hot-beds, and in which to 
transplant young seedlings. Starch, soap, and 
other boxes from the store, can be bought very 
cheap, and each will make, when cut apart, three 
or two flats, according to the depth of the box. 
Three inches is amply deep enough for the flats, 
and for a number of uses, two inches is sufficient. 
Soil for Hot-Beds. —If a supply has not been se¬ 
cured, take advantage of the first thaw, and place 
an ample stock of rich, light soil in the cellar, 
or under some shelter where it will not freeze. 
Hot-Beds. —For the majority of plants, these 
should be ready and the seeds sown, six weeks be¬ 
fore the plants can be set out in the garden. In the 
warmer States they will be wanted tliis month. 
Seeds. —W'atch advertisements, and send for cat¬ 
alogues, and as soon as tliey are at hand, decide 
what seeds must be purchased, and order at once. 
There is an advantage in this to buyer and seller. 
Care of Stored Crops. —Besides preparing for next 
season’s work, it is necessary to care for the stored 
crops. These are chiefly roots and celery. If 
roots arc, unfortunately, stored in the house cellar, 
keep its temperature down to thirty-four degrees. 
Use a thermometer, and when it shows that 
the temperature is too high, open the windows. 
Boots and Celery in Trenches. —Storing roots, etc., 
in trenches, divided by earth partitions into pits 
of a few bushels each, is preferable to storing in 
the cellar. Vv hen cold weather sets in, these need 
a final covering of eighteen inches or two feet of 
soil, rounded up so as to shed water. In many lo¬ 
calities this is not needed before the present month. 
Celery, if covered too soon, will heat and decay. 
Leaves, straw, or marsh hay, are used for the cov¬ 
ering, which should be slight at first, and finally a 
foot or more thick. We usually lay boards roof-wise 
over this covering, to facilitate getting out the 
celery, when the trenches are covered with snow.. 
S^lowei* C<:ii'«lcii mtd. 
Little can be done here just now. If snow lodges 
in evergreen trees, shake it out at once, before it 
gets icy, or the branches may be broken, as the 
lower ones are especially liable to be, by the set¬ 
tling of heavy snow upon them. This may need 
shovelling away.... When snow hides the roads and 
walks, unless they are marked by wires stretched 
on stakes, people Avill drive or walk a straight line 
for the house, and thus often injure small shrubs 
on the lawn. This may still be done during a thaw. 
-In mild spells, shrubs maybe pruned. Some 
of them produce their flowers from buds formed 
last summer, and others upon the growth of the 
current season. Tliey had better go unpruned, than 
to allow one not understanding this, to work upon 
them. While the latter kind may be cut back 
severely, the others only need judicious thinning 
CjJi-oeii-Jioisse and'^Viinlow Cii'ai'doii. 
Bulbs potted last fall may be brought, a few 
pots at a time, to the window or green-house, and 
given water, gradually at first, and more as the 
leaves increase. When the flowers fade, cut them 
away, but keep the leaves in a growing state 'until 
they also begin to fade. Then cut away these and 
take the pots to the cellai-. In spring plant the 
bulbs in the open ground, where they will flower, 
but not so finely as at first... .Water plants in pots 
as they seem to need it. It is better to allow them 
to suffer a little and show that they require water, 
than to water all alike daily. If this be done the 
soil in tlie pot will be in the condition of mud, and 
the plant grow sickly and die....Dust is a great 
enemy to house plants. Contrive a screen of light 
fabric to cover them when the room is swept. 
Plants with thick, smooth leaves should have 
them washed weekly, using a sponge or soft cloth. 
Otlicrs may be showered, first setting the pots in a 
bath-tub or sink-Insects in the green-house are 
for the most part kept under by a weekly fumiga- 
.tion with tobacco-smoke. House plants may be 
treated with tobacco water, to be followed after an 
hour by a showering of pure water. Remove scale 
insects and mealy bugs by hand; it is .the best 
remedy... .When chrysanthemums cease blooming 
cut the stems away and remove the pots to the cel¬ 
lar-A green-house is, of course, provided with 
means of ventilation, which should be employed 
judiciously, according to the outside temperature. 
House plants often suffer for want of fresh air. 
Letting down the windows at the top, in the mid¬ 
dle of the day, will greatly benefit the plants. 
