24 , 4 = 
AMERICAN AGKRICITLTT7RIST. 
[Jtjlt, 
they call them, but none really know anything about 
it. It is a disease that only makes itself known by 
.the death of the patient. A small limb, a large 
one, or the whole tree, apparently in good health 
, one day, is dead the next. All that can be done 
is to, cut away the dead part, to sound wood, even 
if it takes the whole tree and burn it. It will be 
.disastrous in a locality for a while, and then disap¬ 
pear as mysteriously-as it came. 
Early Apples and Pears for market should be 
picked while still hard, they mature and decay 
quickly ; they are best suited to a near market. 
Peaches in the great peach counties of Delaware 
and Maryland promise a very heavy crop. In years 
of abundance, inferior fruit will not pay its ex¬ 
penses; extra care in selecting and packing is 
especially necessary when the crop is large. 
■ Fruit 6imlen. 
Most of the insects that'are destructive in the 
"orcliard are to be guarded againsF in the fruit'gar 1 - 
'den, while certain of the small fruits have their 
special enemies. 
Strawberries .—In but few localities does the sea¬ 
son extend into the p):esent month. The treatment 
of the plants when the- crop is off will depend upon 
the system of culture adopted. In fields where 
alternating beds are made, the spaces that have 
served for paths are manured and plowed, and the 
runners allowed to occupy them, and when the 
plants are well established—usually in September 
—then the old plants are plowed under. By this 
treatment the plants bear but one crop of fruit. In 
garden beds, where the plants are in separate stools, 
or have been allowed to fill in between the original 
plants to make a solid row, the mulch is removed; 
'a dressing of fine manure forked in, and the mulch 
■‘replaced ; during the remainder of the season the 
'runners are cut off as they grow, and the few strong 
weeds which make their appearance through the 
straw are pulled by hand. 
Paspberries follow close upon strawberries, and 
as they are always biennial, the crop of next year 
will depend upon the care given to the plants this 
season. With the ordinary kind that throw up new 
stems from the root, or sucker, the shoots should 
be selected for next year’s bearing canes, and all 
others cut off. There is nothing gained by letting 
the shoots grow tall; if stopped at three, or at 
most four feet, according to the vigor of the varie¬ 
ty—which is dorie by merely pinching out the grow¬ 
ing point or tip, with thumb and finger, the energy 
that woukf have been .expended in producing a 
cane 6 or 8 feet’high,is-diverted to forming branches) 
and by the. end.of the season will be a stocky, 
branched bush, that will require but little support'. 
The canes that have borne this year, will not bear 
again, but will be dead at the end of the season. 
Cultivators differ as to the proper time for removing 
these canes ; some think that if they remain they 
contribute to the growth, and help strengthen the 
root, and do not cut them away until late in the 
fall. Whatever gain there maybe is, in our opinion, 
more than. offset by. the injury in crowding the 
new shoots and preventing their proper develope- 
ment, hence we cut out the old canes as soon as 
the fruit is off. 
Black Cap and Purple Caries, do not throw up 
suckers, but their new canes come from the base of 
the.old plant, and the old fruiting brauches should 
be cut away, while the new shoots that are to bear 
next year are to be cared for, especially their 
growth in length should be stopped, and branch¬ 
ing induced. Of course, if it is desired to-propg- 
gate them, the shoots must be allowed to grow to 
their full length, as they are only multiplied by 
taking root at the tip, later in the season-,_■ „ , - . 
Currants for jelly should be picked as soon as 
they are fairly red, but for table use they arp much 
better if allowed to get dead-ripe. If one has; but 
a few bushes to care for,.the new shoots not .needed, 
and the pinching of-too -rampant.grow.th, will-an¬ 
ticipate much of the fall pruning... . 
,t Grapes.— In all well trained vipes, the. laterals— 
the side shoots- that appear in-the axils-of the 
leaves, are kept pinched back to one leaf. Whop 
they Qrst push, pinch off all but one leaf; after a 
,whi(e the bud in the axil of that leaf will push; 
.pinch that growth back to one leaf ; a third may 
start, but seldom more.—Pick off the large beetles, 
and .the various caterpillars ; they are seldom so 
numerous that they can not be hand-picked.— 
Watch for mildew, especially in a warm, moist 
time, and dust thoroughly with sulphur.—Vines 
may be propagated by layering the shoots of this 
season’s growth, when they have become hard 
enough to handle without breaking; bend down 
the shoot and place two or three joints of it—the 
leaves being removed from these joints—in a small 
trench a few inches deep; the end of the shoot 
may be tied to a stake. It is a good plan to lay a 
flat stone over the buried portion, as this keeps the 
earth moist and thus favors the formation of roots. 
Kitchen and Market Garden. 
So long as the growing seasdn lasts, there will be 
Weeds, and so long as there are weeds there is 
work. Some writers insist that weeds are by no 
means an evil, as without them the soil would not 
get the needed stirring. See Note last month on 
the use of the rake in weed-killing. Weeds or no 
weeds, th'e 
Use of the Roe or some equivalent implement in 
a dry time will help - the plants greatly, and those 
well cultivated will resist the drouth much better 
than the neglected ones. Many of 
The Early Crops, such as peas, early cabbages, 
early potatoes, etc., will be off, and the land should 
at once be made ready for something else. In 
market gardens land is too valuable to lay idle, but 
it is not rare to see, in private gardens, a piece al¬ 
lowed to run to weeds after the crop is off. If not 
wanted to produce^ supplies for the family, it is 
better to grow something that can be fed to the 
cow, the pigs, or even the chickens, than weeds. 
Succession Crops of several things may be sown. 
Beans, Beets, Carrots, Cucumbers, Sweet Com, and 
later, Radishes and Spinach, are among the things 
that may be sown to fill cleared places, and late 
Cabbages and Cauliflowers, and sweet herbs may be 
transplanted to them from the seed bed. 
Beets .—Many persons sow early beets only in 
spring; the Egyptian is so much better in quality 
than any of the late kinds, that by successive sow¬ 
ings, we have them all the season; besides the beet 
greens—the thinnings—are most acceptable when 
hot weather puts a stop to spinach. 
Celery is to be set out from the. middle to the 
end of the month. .We have long ago given up 
growing:it; in trenches ; seethe dwarf kind six 
inches apart, in good soil; and keep cultivated dur¬ 
ing the season, until the time, to earth up. Those 
who prefer the use of trenches, can make them 15 
inches wide, and a full spade deep, taking care to 
have some good soil at the bottom, which should 
be well manured; set the celery in two rows, 8 
inches apart, and the plants at 6 inches in the rows. 
Corn .—In the latitude of New York, sweet com 
rarely gives a crop if sown later than the first part 
of this month ; in exceptional seasons it will ma¬ 
ture if put in as late as the middle of the month. 
We usually risk a few rows of late sown, as the 
fodder will pay for the trouble if we fail of the ears. 
Cabbages and Cauliflowers should be set out by the 
middle of the month ; rows 3 feet apart with the 
plants every 2 feet apart in the row, is the usual 
distance where they are worked by horse. See that 
the plants are perfect; sometimes the growing 
point is injured or “blind,” and such will never 
head;. in dry weather it is well to mix up cow ma¬ 
nure, loam, and water, and dip the roots in this be¬ 
fore setting. Rregp the earth well down around the 
hoofs, - to have the plant firm. 
, Egg, Plants.— frequent hoeings. Potato bugs 
pie-very fond of- them ; the plants are usually so 
few .that the hugs maybe hand-picked; on large 
Jots Paris green may .be used. Keep the fruit fronq 
the ground by a wisp of hay, or mulch the bed. 
... Squashy, Melons, and Cucumbers, are all liable to 
attackg-of,jnsects of-the same kind., The worst 
enemyps-the “ borer,” which enters the vine near 
the root’ and if not discovered early and cut out, 
destroys the whole plant. Covering the vine with 
earth for several joints next the root, is said to be a 
preventive. Before the plants get too large, eggs 
of the squash-bug may be found on the under side 
of the leaves and killed. 
Tomatoes .—Keep tied to the trellis; cut away all 
superfluous growth; look out -for the great green 
worm, it takes leaves and young fruit, and a single 
one will make sad work with a vine ; the droppings 
usually show where the enemy is, catch—it can’t 
bite or sting—and crush. 
Sweet Potatoes ; keep clear of weeds, and move the 
vines to keep them from taking root. 
Turnips .—The ruta-baga sorts should be in, in 
this latitude, by the middle of the month. For 
family use the Long White French is vastly prefer¬ 
able to any of the larger growing kinds. When 
large enough, thin to six inches.. 
The work here will be confined,[to what may-be 
called “keeping,” but it comprises a greatyariety 
of operations, most of which have been pointed 
out in former months, and need here but a brief 
reminder_The grass on the lawn should be 
mown when it needs it; those wko make it a rule 
to mow regularly at stated intervals, make a mis¬ 
take ; in a hot, dry time, when the grass is making 
no growth, it is best let alone, else the roots may 
suffer.... Edgings' must be kept neatly cut. 
Shrubs and perennial plants should have the clus¬ 
ters cut away as soon as out of flower, unless seeds 
are wanted_Dahlias, .gladioluses, lilies, and other 
plants will need stakes, which should be so placed 
as to show as little as possible_Bedding plants 
in masses, need pinching and cutting to preserve a 
uniform hight; in ribbon planting the effect is 
spoiled unless the lines are kept distinct, which 
may be done by proper cutting... .Insects of vari¬ 
ous sorts will annoy, and one of the greatest 
troubles, not only on roses, but other plants, is the 
rose-bug, for which there is no help but catching 
and killing. In early morning they are inactive, 
and easily shaken off into a dish of water-Propa¬ 
gate shrubs, such as Weigelas, Forsythias, and 
other easily rooted things, from the just hardening 
new wood, under a shaded frame. 
Cjii’eeiiliouse and Window Plan Is. 
Plants set out of doors for the summer, are apt 
to suffer from neglect. - It would conduce greatly 
to their health to prepare a place for them, a mere 
frame of boards as wide as the hight of the pots; 
put down a layer of cOal-ashes on which to. 6et the 
plants, and then, having put in the pots to allow 
each plant sufficient room, fill in between them 
with coal-ashes. This will not only prevent dry¬ 
ing out so rapidly, but avoid injury to the roots by 
the sun falling directly upon the pots—an unsus¬ 
pected cause of much damage....This plan will 
prevent the plants from being thrown over by the 
winds, otherwise some other means must be de¬ 
vised.. . .Most greenhouse plants need shade in the 
hottest part of the day, and should be so placed as 
to secure this... .Several insects that are not known 
in the greenhouse, may visit the plants when set 
out, and vigilance is required_Fuchsias should 
never be turned out into the open ground, unless 
in a much sheltered place'; the hot suns and winds 
soon destroy their beauty; if taken out of the I 
house at all, the veranda is the best place for them, ^ 
and if they can be set where the flowers can be seen I 
from below, they will be all the more effective. | 
Keep the weeds from growing in the flower pots. 
How Agriculture is Encouraged. 
—In North Carolina artificial fertilizers are taxed by 
means of a heavy license fee exacted from dealers, from 
which already $13,000 has been paid into the State 
treasury. In Maryland, out of 67 students in the “Agri¬ 
cultural College,” so called, eleven are studying for West 
Point or the Naval School, and the professor of Mathe¬ 
matics is paid $3,000 per year while, the professor of 
Agriculture receives $600. Nearly every other industry 
in the country is protected, while agriculture has to take 
care of itself, or is burdened to help other industries. 
