92 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
ing-knife and saw, so that when the proper 
time comes, he may give the tree its right 
shape and form, removing all limbs that may 
cross and chafe each other, giving it the 
form of an inverted umbrella as near as can 
be. 
When any one has planted an orchard, he 
should not get discouraged, but work with a 
will, and keep the ground in good tilth among 
the trees, as it is in the kitchen garden. He 
should not be satisfied with a few inches 
growth made in a year, but as far as lies in 
his power, make a growth of from one to 
two feet; and he will have the satisfaction 
in being rewarded for his labor at a day not 
far distant. No man can give too much of 
his time, or bestow too much care upon his 
trees. It is the great secret in bringing them 
to perfection. What satisfaction and delight 
it must be to the owner of an orchard in full 
bearing, to see his trees, reared by his own 
hands, bending under their loads of fruit, re¬ 
warding him for his toil and labor, in profit 
and pleasure ! 
In regard to the profits of raising fruit, it 
must be admitted I think, that it is more 
profitable than anything else a farmer can 
raise. The crops raised among the trees 
while they are growing, will more than pay 
the expenses of their culture'; and after they 
have come into bearing, nothing need be done 
but to keep the ground plowed every year. 
The prices that good apples usually sell at, 
will keep in ratio with the population at 
least for the next half century.—J. U., in 
New-England Farmer. 
A Boon to Dahlia Growers. —Avery use¬ 
ful little article has been invented and regis¬ 
tered by Mr. Edwards, of St. Paul’s-square, 
Birmingham, for the destruction of that uni¬ 
versal pest, the earwig. The article in ques¬ 
tion is placed on the top of the Dahlia stick, 
in the same manner as the inverted flower 
pots ; it is made of japanned tin, and is so 
constructed that when the earwigs have en¬ 
tered it they find it impossible to get out. 
The trap has been placed in the hands of 
Mr. C. J. Perry, the well known amateur of 
Birmingham, who has thoroughly tested it 
during the late season. Mr. Perry reports 
as follows : 
“ In my opinion the invention is complete, 
no obstruction whatever being offered to the 
entrance of the insects, and I found that a 
little sugar being placed inside the trap car¬ 
ried such an attraction that in a few days the 
trap contained a living mass of the destruct¬ 
ive and noxious creatures. The lid is made 
to open so that the trap can be emptied in a 
moment; but its principal recommendation 
is the fact that it is not necessary to remove 
it daily to destroy the earwigs, as their de¬ 
tention being positive the grower can inspect 
his traps at his leisure, or they may even be 
allowed to remain during an entire season.” 
If the inventor can produce the earwig 
trap at a moderate cost we feel assured that 
the demand will be very great, as not only 
Dahlias but many other florists’ flowers suf¬ 
fer considerably from the ravages of ear¬ 
wigs.—London Florist. 
Help the needy, that your needs be helped. 
CUEING AND PEESEEVING MEAT. 
As this is the season when farmers are 
laying in their store of meat for the year, a 
few remarks upon its selection and preserva¬ 
tion willbe appropriate. In selecting swine, 
those breeds that are small-boned, with 
small ears and thin skin, have our preference, 
both for fattening and for use. A pig which, 
moderately fatted, at sixteen months old 
weighs about 300 pounds, in our estimation, 
is better pork than another one, or even the 
same, giving the same weight at eight months. 
Where fat is the only desideratum the young 
pigs would take precedence ; but where we 
wish a firm broadside, not shrinking or turn¬ 
ing to lard in boiling, but remaining solid, 
though not gristly and hard ; a good juicy 
spare-rib, with the lean well streaked with 
fat on the rib, at least two inches thick, and 
with tender hams weighing twenty pounds, 
and the coating of fat on them not more than 
one inch thick, the animal must be at least 
a year old. 
Of all breeds we have tried, the Berkshire 
and its crosses have proved the best. The 
Suffolk, although we have not tested them, 
we think would furnish too little lean in pro¬ 
portion to the fat for our use. 
Having obtained the right animals, they 
should be killed at any time after cold weath¬ 
er sets in, so that the meat may cool thor¬ 
oughly and keep during the process of cur¬ 
ing ; but it is better not to allow it to freeze. 
It may be cut up and packed safely the same 
day it is killed, even while it is warm, but it 
is better to take the lard out and defer cut¬ 
ting till the next day, as it can be done much 
neater when it has acquired some firmness. 
Cut the spare rib so as to retain all the lean 
meat between it and the broadside, as it will 
shrink up and become hard if salted. The 
broadsides should be cut up in strips cross¬ 
wise, about six inches wide, and closely 
packed edgewise in a barrel with plenty of 
good clean salt between each layer. Cold 
water may be added to cover the meat, or 
brine containing all the salt it will dissolve. 
As the salt between the meat dissolves, the 
brine will sink a little, but the meat must be 
kept covered. A flat stone may be placed on 
it to keep it from swimming, as fat meat is 
lighter than brine. There is no danger of 
its being too salt, and following these direc¬ 
tions you will never have rusty pork. 
We have tried various recipes for curing 
hams, but have never found any superior to 
what is called the “ Knickerbocker pickle.” 
Rub the hams thoroughly with fine salt, 
especially about the bone, and then thrust in 
a piece as large as a chestnut, and let them 
lie on a plank to drain for two days; then 
pack them loosely in a barrel, and cover them 
with the brine made as follows : 
Six gallons of water, nine pounds of salt, 
one quart of molasses, three pounds of brown 
sugar, three ounces of saltpetre, and one 
ounce of saleratqs. Boil the whole well and 
skim, and when cold pour it on the meat, 
which should be entirely covered by it. This 
will make brine enough for about one hun¬ 
dred pounds. In two or three weeks take 
up the hams and re-pack them, and after lay¬ 
ing in the brine as much longer, they may 
be smoked till they are a fine chestnut brown. 
Hickory chips and cobs make the best smoke, 
which should not be confined, but allowed to 
pass off freely, so as to dry as well as smoke 
the meat; but the fire must not be hot 
enough to burn or heat it. Before warm 
weather the hams may be inclosed in thick 
unbleached cotton bags, hanging loosely 
about them, but tied tightly about the string 
of the ham, and suspended from the roof in 
a dry well ventilated garret, where they will 
be safe from the attacks of rats and insects, 
and will keep the year round, rather improv¬ 
ing in quality. 
Beef is better not to be cut up for several 
days, depending upon the temperature. For 
corning and drying it may receive the same 
treatment as the hams, except the brine for 
the corned beef must be scaled before warm 
weather, or whenever a scum appears on the 
top, and a little more salt and molasses. A 
little saleratus is also useful, as the rapid ef¬ 
fervescence proves when it is put in; but do 
it before it boils, or it will run over. If too 
much salt is added to render the beef agree¬ 
able, soak it over night in cold water, and you 
may thus freshen it to your fancy.—Home 
stead. 
ABOUT MANURE SHEDS. 
When we see a reasonable scheme in suc¬ 
cessful operation, we feel more of its force—, 
it stirs us more—than anything we may only 
hear of it. So thought a certain farmer—or 
at least so acted he—when he went to work 
the other day to build a manure shed. He 
had often heard it remarked that manure 
kept under shelter was worth double that 
left exposed in the yard—he had often noticed 
the difference in its smell, texture, and ap¬ 
pearance on his own premises—but he had 
never tried the two, side by side, in a fail- 
experiment, until the present year. Now 
he saw the difference in value, he believed 
what he had been told, and he went to work 
to build a manure shed, so as to reap more 
of the benefits now so evident. 
It is not to be supposed that the story of 
his experiments will convince all who read 
it; he had read just as good, long before he 
really began to “show his faith”—in the 
only true way of showing it—“ by his work.” 
But it is “ good enough to tell ” for all that, 
and we hope, will not be without its influ¬ 
ence. He has two good-sized open sheds 
attached to his barnyard, which his cows 
occupy for shelter at will in stormy weath¬ 
er. He keeps his oxen and horses in close 
stables, and these, as well as the sheds, are 
kept well littered through the winter. The 
manure from the stables is thro'wn into the 
yard; that made under the sheds remains 
there ; both have a sufficient mixture of 
straw to prevent too active fermentation. 
And both, were they in the same situation in 
regard to shelter, would be of equal value. 
Last spring, he determined to test the dif¬ 
ference as closely as he could, without go¬ 
ing into any minute figuring or preparations, 
for that is too small business in his eyes, 
for one with so much work to attend to. 
So, on his corn and barley ground, he took 
