1877.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
125 
the stock to lap over and cover the cut surface ; 
having the part around the stock closely applied, 
bend in the free edge to cover the top, tearing it if 
need be, to fit around the cions ; if any portion of 
the cut surface of either stock or cion is exposed, 
Fig. 12. TWO GRAFTS. Fig. 13. 
tear off small bits of the cloth to cover every part; 
finally, smooth and blend the covering together by 
passing over it the greased thumb and finger. 
When finished it will appear somewhat as in figure 
13. It is well to put a bit of waxed cloth on the top 
of the cions, to prevent the cut surface from dying. 
Sundry Matters.— Keep the knives very sharp, and 
learn to make cuts with a single stroke of the knife 
... .Do not smear the surfaces that are to come in 
contact, with wax from the fingers.... It makes 
much quicker work for one to set the grafts, and 
let another do the waxing. If much is to be done, 
still another may saw off the branches.... In sawing 
off a branch, do not allow it to fall and tear the bark 
before it is completely severed.... It is better to 
cut through the bark of the 6tock with a knife, be¬ 
fore making the split, to secure a smooth cleft.... 
Before waxing, grease the hands slightly, and after 
waxing wipe them well before handling the tools 
....Either label, or make a record of the varieties 
set, with date, etc. 
Books on Fruit Culture give other kinds of graft¬ 
ing. Barry’s “Fruit Garden,” which is full on 
propagating fruits of all hardy kinds, furnishes us 
figures 8 to 12, and to the elaborate “ American 
Pomology ” of Doct. Warder, we are indebted for 
figures 5 and 6. To such a refinement is grafting 
carried in France, that there is a handsome book of 
320 pages, Baltet’s “ L’ Art de Greffer,” entirely 
devoted to the subject, and describes in detail no 
less than 39 different styles and modifications. 
A word to the Boys. —Can you whittle ? Can you 
sharpen a lead-pencil neatly ?—Then you can learn 
to graft. After a few trials upon twigs of almost 
any tree, you can soon get the knack of it. The 
whip-graft looks difficult, but in practice it is very 
easy. You can learn to graft without any special 
tools, and if you can be allowed some waxed cloth, 
you can make trials this spring. It is an art worth 
knowing. We know a young man who paid his way 
through college mainly by grafting for farmers. 
The Fruit Garden. 
The very full notes given in January, with those 
for last month, cover the whole ground for early 
work, and in most northern localities will be of 
present application. Whatever 
Planting is to be done, should be attended to at 
the earliest moment, as the shrubs, etc.,'will suffer 
in hot weather, unless they become well rooted. 
See January notes for varieties and directions. 
Currants. —Wherever the leaves are fairly ex¬ 
panded, the Currant Abraxis , or most common 
“ worm ” is to be looked for. Careful examination 
of the underside of the lower leaves will discover 
the eggs, and by the picking of a single leaf, doz¬ 
ens of eggs may be destroyed. If the worms ap¬ 
pear, apply powdered white hellebore at once, or 
it may be applied stirred in water, about 2 oz. to 
the pailful. Scald the hellebore with a little hot 
water first, and fill up with cold. The same direc¬ 
tions apply to gooseberries. 
Strawberries. —If not already done, remove the 
covering around the plants, to expose them to light 
and air. Set plants early, that they may get well 
started before hot weather. We set in rows 3 feet 
apart, with plants one foot distant, allowing the 
runners to fill the spaces between the plants, and 
form solid rows. Where land is scarce, the rows 
may be 2 feet apart, or the plants set as close as 12 
by 18 inches. Very rich soil and clean culture are 
needed. In the Southern States, picking and ship¬ 
ping have begun or soon will be, and we would re¬ 
mind growers of the importance of cooling off the 
berries before packing. The fruit must never be 
soft, but its ripeness governed by the time before it 
will reach the consumer. Pick into the baskets, 
and set these in a cool, shady place for some hours 
before packing. Use only baskets and crates that 
are well ventilated. 
Crapes may still be set in many localities, and 
there can hardly be a yard of any kind, but will al¬ 
low of one or more vines. The vine is so manage¬ 
able that its fruiting part may be a long distance 
from the root. 
Kitchen and Market Garden. 
The notes for February are almost exclusively 
devoted to this department, and we refer to them 
for all that relates to making hot-beds, and select¬ 
ing seeds, while last month’s notes give directions 
that will be generally timely now. 
Hot-beds, as the heat of the sun increases, de¬ 
mand careful attention in ventilating; on warm 
days the sashes may be removed altogether, but 
they must be replaced early. The whole object 
should be to secure to the plants an uniform grow¬ 
ing temperature, avoiding both chilling and burn¬ 
ing, and to do this requires attention and close 
watching of the changes. Water, weed, and stir 
the soil among the plants, to keep them in a healthy 
condition. (In the Northern States this is early 
enough to sow Egg-plants, in the hot-bed.) 
Cold Frames. —(See Feb.) Should be ready to re¬ 
ceive transplanted Tomato and other plants, and 
allow them to be hardened off, before setting out. 
Cucumbers and melons may be started in these. 
Sowing Seeds.—Garden plants maybe divided into 
two ciasses, hardy and tender. The hardy may be 
sown as soon as the ground can be worked and 
hard frosts are over. The tender can not be risked 
in the open ground, until the soil gets warm, and 
this time is, in all parts of the country, that which 
experience has shown to be the proper one for 
planting Indian com. The seeds that may be 
sown in the Northern States generally, this month, 
are: Beet, Cabbage (and all its forms of Brocoli, 
Cauliflower, etc.), Celery, Cress, Kohlrabi, Leek, 
Lettuce, Onions, Parsley, Parsnip, Peas, Potatoes, 
Radish, Spinach, Turnip (Early). N. B.—Under 
no circumstances is anything gained—but much is 
lost—by sowing in, or working the soil in any man¬ 
ner, when it is wet. Make haste—but slowly. 
Plants from Cold Frames.— Early Cabbages, Cauli¬ 
flower, and Lettuce are set out as soon as the soil 
can be made ready. Set the plants well down to 
the leaves, and press the soil firmly around them. 
Potatoes. —Have the sets cut, and dried off, ready 
to plant as soon as the soil is ready. As soon as' 
the earth is broken by the shoots, it is likely that 
the potato-bug will be there, and hand-picking 
must commence. One beetle killed now, prevents 
the appearance of thousands later in the season. 
If this cannot be attended to, do not plant any. 
Flower Garden and Fawn. 
Ournotes in this department are mainly devoted to 
Laying out Front Tards. —By front yard, we refer 
to the space between the house and the road, 
whether in town or country, that is intended to 
be ornamental, but is often sadly the reverse. 
Those who have to put their yards in order this 
spring, should recollect that neatness and sim¬ 
plicity are the main things to be aimed at. It is 
impossible to reproduce Central Park on a plot 
50 x 100 feet, or even on an acre. Those who 
overload a small space with fountain and grotto, 
rustic seat, and rock-work, statuary and vases, and 
all the appliances that they have seen in large places 
or read of in books, show very bad taste. In cities 
and large towns, where one entrance from the 
street must serve for everything, the path, as a gen¬ 
eral thing, runs directly from the gate to the house. 
A direct path has many advantages in such places; 
if it deviates from a straight line, it is very difficult 
to prevent shop-boys and others from cutting 
across lots; but the direct path cuts the space in 
two in such a manner that it is very difficult tc or¬ 
nament it effectively. The plan here given suggests 
one method of overcoming this divided or halved 
appearance, and it allows of quite as much orna¬ 
mentation as should be undertaken in a small place. 
No matter if the yard be small or large, a considera¬ 
ble portion should be devoted to grass. In the 
plan the center bed is grass, with a flower-bed in 
the center, and four others around the margins, 
while the borders at each side are devoted to shrubs, 
the taller ones near the fence, and lower ones to¬ 
wards the paths. The plan admits of several modi¬ 
fications : the marginal flower-beds may be omitted 
from the circle, leaving only the central one ; or 
there may be no flower-beds here, but a clump of 
Rhododendrons, or a single handsome specimen 
Evergreen tree may take its place. 
The Borders at the sides may be varied. So long 
as people insist upon having unsightly division 
fences, trouble must be taken to hide them. If 
neighbors would agree to it, a very low hedge, or a 
few wires, would answer to mark the boundary, 
greatly to the improvement of the neighborhood. 
If 6hrubs are not desired along the fences, these 
may be covered with climbers of various kinds, and 
the rest of the border occupied by flowers. No 
more space should be devoted to flowers than can 
be well filled and well cared for. Grass is always 
in good taste, and can be well kept with but little 
trouble ; a neglected flower-bed is an eye-sore. 
Grass. —In small yards it is better to lay turf than 
to 60W seed ; it costs a little more, but the effect is 
immediate and certain, while in an unfavorable sea¬ 
son, seed may fail. Recollect, that to have good 
grass, it must have a good soil under it, and before 
the sods are laid, the soil should be as well pre¬ 
pared and enriched as for any other planting. 
DESIGN FOB A FRONT YARD. 
Climbing Vines. —In the spring improvements, 
do not forget the house itself. Few modern houses 
that set back from the street, are without a veranda, 
or piazza, of some kind, and this should be dec¬ 
orated with climbers. Among the tall-growing 
woody climbers, the following are good and to be 
had at all nurseries: Honeysuckles of the ever- 
blooming kind, Wistarias, Dutchman’s Pipe ( Arista- 
lochia Sipho), Akebia, Virginia Creeper; and the 
new Japan Creeper ( Ampelopsis tricuspidata or 
Vietchii). Among the lower climbers, the large- 
flowered hinds of Clematis are the most desirable. 
