1884.] 
AMEEICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
entirely out of their reaeli at the greater fairs. 
Every farmer can go and see what his neighbors 
are doing, and thus an emulation is aroused which 
the more extensive fair can never awaken. The 
hard-worked, jilodding farmer says he has no time 
to bother with fairs and prize stock, and choice 
fruits and fancy flowers, and it is true if he has to 
compete with persons of wealth and leisure who 
make these a part of their avocation. But most of 
ordinary contributors have time and pride enough 
to keep abreast with those whom, they recognize as 
their peers. While it is neither profitable nor hon¬ 
orable to do anything iioorly, every person ought 
to have something in which he takes especial 
pride ; if a farmer, it may be his horses or his hens, 
his potatoes, or even his roses ; the wife or daugh¬ 
ter may excel with her bread, her house plants, or 
her decorative work. Jf one has a “ hobby” it 
need not encroach upon the more regular duties 
and he will be sure to find time for it; he will take 
as much pleasure in it as in all his other work. He 
will be furnished with the literature of that sub¬ 
ject, and be recognized by his neighbors as an au¬ 
thority and a success in that department, and by 
this effort will receive a valuable discipline and up¬ 
lifting of character. He will be able to make that 
department of the local fair interesting, while he 
will be the better fitted to contribute to the other 
departments also. In the British fairs, already re¬ 
ferred to, the young men have athletic sports and 
contests which add interest to the occasion and 
also stimulate a pride in the manly physique which 
is much needed by our American youth. Our 
County fairs do not fill the bill; while important 
and useful their territory is too extensive, their 
plan too elaborate, their machinery too complicated 
and expensive, and their occurrence too rare. The 
township would be a better division of territory for 
the gathering we have in mind, or better still, a 
neighborhood defined by common consent, w. J. m. 
Transplanting Boxes. 
Mr. L. D. Snook sends us the following : Figure 
1 is a common box of any size, four to six inches 
deep. Thin strips, three inches or so wide, are 
set in the box, two or three inches' apart. Small 
Fig. 1. 
bits of shingle or pasteboard serve for cross divi¬ 
sions. This may be used for starting seeds, and 
for carrying lifted plants to be pricked out; the 
division pieces confine the roots of each plant to its 
own portion of soil. In figure 2 a bit of shingle, or 
any thin wood, say four inches long and two and a 
half inches wide is cut partly through at its mid¬ 
dle, dampened and bent to a right angle, as at a. 
A succession of these set in the box keeps the soil 
in separate masses for removal with the plants. 
Figure 3 indicates the use of bark rings, which are 
readily cut from branches or the trunks of trees, 
of any size de.sired. These can be set in a box and 
Fig. 2. 
filled with suitable soil for starting the seeds. By 
crowding them in they wili assume nearly a square 
form to save space. The interstices are to be filled 
with earth to keep the whole moist. A sheet of 
pasteboard can be cut with little waste into pieces 
like the whole of figure 4, and creased or partly cut 
through at the dotted lines. When a, a, a, a are 
bfought together in the form of a box, 6 is turned 
under as a bottom, and set into the large box. 
When transplanting b is dropped down, and the 
earth with the plant is pushed out into the hill un¬ 
disturbed. In all these arrangements, as well as 
with the sod pieces. Mi’. Andrews’ plan of placing 
a few inches of fermenting manure underneath will- 
give bottom heat to hasten the germination of seed 
and growth of plants. It is, of course, important 
b 
Fig. 3. Fig. 4. 
in all cases to keep the seed and plant-bearing soil 
moist, but never wet. This may be done by occa¬ 
sional sprinkling with a tine rose watering pot, or 
better by keeping the soil below well dampened, 
so that moisture enough will rise into the sods, or 
the earth in boxes, by capillary attraction. Boxes 
holding half a foot of earth or more, below the di¬ 
vision cases, will retain and supply moisture. 
The Cultivation of Filberts. 
A correspondent in St. Louis, Mo., asks us if 
the English Filbert can be successfully raised in 
this country, which would be the best State in 
which to undertake it, and if the shrubs or trees 
can be obtained here ? He states that he “ has seen 
nuts here called filberts which were not half as 
large as the genuine English nut.”—This letter al¬ 
lows us to say a word in favor of a most neglected 
fruit, the Filbert. It is exceedingly popular in Eng¬ 
land, where it is also called Hazel Hut, and when 
“ the nut ” or “nuts” are mentioned the filbert 
is the one designated. The small nut mentioned 
by our correspondent was, no doubt, one of our 
two native species, the nut of which is very small 
and thick-shelled with a diminutive kernel. The 
filberts of the shops are from a distinct species of 
Southern Europe. In England, where a dozen or 
more varieties of the filbert tree (Corijlus Avdlana) 
are cultivated, a very large and popular kind with 
rough, hairy ’husks is known as Cobs. From the 
success shown by a few trials in New York State, 
there is little doubt that the filbert will succeed in 
all the Northern States. Our best nurseries keep 
trees of a few of the best English varieties. The 
filbeit is usually multiplied by suckers, of which 
it forms a great many, by layers, and sometimes by 
grafting. Probably our native species would an¬ 
swer as stocks upon which to graft. In the Eng¬ 
lish plantations, where the shrubs for convenience 
of gathering the nuts are kept about six feet high, 
the shrubs are planted ten by ten feet apart. The 
suckers are very numerous and must be cut away, 
and a round, compacted head formed by pruning. 
The Berry Patch. 
Former notes upon the cultivation of the small 
fruits, have been given under “Fruit Garden.” 
Perhaps the very persons for whom they are espe¬ 
cially intended—the farmers,thinking they have no 
fruit garden, have passed them by. By fruit gar¬ 
den, we mean essentially a berry patch. As far¬ 
mers more than most others deprive themselves of 
the small fruits, which they might and should have 
in abundance, we have endeavored to show that 
their culture is a simple matter. Let the determi¬ 
nation once be made to have an abundance of small 
fruits, all the rest is easy. To make a beginning, 
unless some friendly neighbor will furnish plants, 
there must be a small outlay at the start. If only 
a few plants of each kind of fruit are procured to 
begin with, these can be increased very rapidly, 
indeed, some multiply themselves. No investment 
will bring such a large return in health and family 
comfort, as that expended for the plants to stock a 
berry patch. Send to some reputable dealer for 
his catalogue, make a selection and send the order 
163 
early. The express or mail will bring the plants 
in due time. When the plants come, there must 
bo a place ready to receive them. Select the best 
land that can be found near the house. It is well 
to have it in sight, as tresspassers will be less apt 
to trouble it. It would bo better to have prepared 
the soil for the patch last fall, but do it now, rather 
than to postpone the garden for a whole year. 
Prepare the soil as well as you know how with the 
means at hand. This means well-rotted manure, 
and thorough w orking with the plow and harrow. 
Pruning the Grape Vine. 
Mr. W. W. Meech, Vineland, N. J., writes us: 
Grape vines that have come to a bearing age, may 
be pruned in such a manner as to be very certain 
of the results. By examining the vines while they 
are growing, one can very readily see from which 
buds of the previous year’s growth, have produced 
the branches that are producing the crop of the 
current year. This will serve as a guide to the 
pruning for the next crop, and soon from year to 
year. Shoots from canes older than the last year, 
very seldom produce anything but wood, but that 
wood is all right for a crop the next year. The 
shoots from the axillary buds, where the new 
and old w'ood come together, will hardly ever pro¬ 
duce any grapes. The first bud beyond the axil 
will be found to yield fruit, but the clusters from 
the next bud, and for several further on, will gen¬ 
erally bear the shouldered bunches of the crop. 
I have found in my experience that six buds on a 
strong cane, so selected, will generally yield three 
fine clusters each ; and occasionally four. Up to 
the capacity of the vine, we may look for this num¬ 
ber of clusters from the buds of vei'y strong and 
vigorous canes of the last year’s growth. Hence, 
according to the number of perfect clusters we es¬ 
timate the vine capable of producing, we can 
readily select those giving the best promise, and 
cut all the others oil. This plan of pruning greatly 
reduces the labor as compared with the old method 
of leaving spurs of one or two buds all over the 
vine, and gives little wood and many grapes. 
Row Planting—Simple Marker. 
No farmer or gardener needs to be told of the 
advantages of having everything possible growing 
in straight, uniform rows. Aside from the greater 
convenience in cultivating, hoeing and weeding. 
there is profit in giving all plants, including field 
grain crops, an equal distribution of sunshine, rain 
and air. This consideration alone is decisive in 
favor of drilling in all seed, to say nothing of the 
uniform depth secured. But drill or no drill, a 
good marker is desirable, and there are many ex¬ 
cellent kinds. Here is one sent us by Mr. H. H. 
Hastings, Corning, Iowa, easily made at home, 
with trifling expense. The main plank, p, about a 
foot wide, may be of any length from four to four¬ 
teen feet or more. Spike or bolt in the center a 
runner, a, and over this two pieces of a form and 
in a position to receive any wagon tongue available, 
or the thills of a single wagon if the marker is to be 
a small one for one horse ; make two, four, or six 
short runners, 6, 6, as desired and cut through 
each a mortise to receive the plank. This can be 
held at any distance apart desired by pins, as shown 
in the engraving. The lower edges of the runners 
can be made of a form to suit the soil. In light soil 
with weights on the plank, or the driver riding on 
it, the marks can be made deep enough to drop in 
seed of any kind. A plank, fifteen feel long, with 
two runners on each side, the middle will mark 
five corn rows three and a half feet apart, allow¬ 
ing a few inches waste on the ends ®f the plank. 
