1876.] 
203 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
enough for horse or man. Two hours rest at noon, 
will be well for the horses, giving them time to cat, 
and opportunity to digest their food. The tenth of 
the time thus taken from work, will be more thau 
regained in the better health of the animals, and 
their better ability to work the other nine hours. 
Working Oxen.— Iu feeding oxen, it must be re¬ 
membered that they are ruminating animals, and 
need to be fed differently from horses. Having a 
large stomach, an ox needs coarse food to fill it. 
An ox, therefore, is not refreshed by a feed of fine 
meal; but is by one of cut hay or straw and meal 
mixed, and the noon feed for oxen should be of 
this kind. Give ample time for feeding and rest at 
the noon spell. 
Cows and Calves .—Cows are now in their flush of 
milk, and it is the harvest time of the dairy. June 
butter is the best of the year ; the fresh grass gives 
both rich color and the best flavor. To preserve 
these, every operation of the dairy should be done 
with scrupulous cleanliness. The quality of the 
feed should be looked to, for the quality of the 
milk depends upon it. The best calves should be 
retained and raised to make dairy cows, instead of 
sending them to the butcher. 
Sheep and Lambs .—Lambs should be pushed for¬ 
ward by giving the ewes a little extra feed at night. 
A handful of mixed bran and crushed oats, daily, 
for each ewe, will greatly increase the milk, and 
help to rear hardy and large lambs. Guard against 
cold storms after shearing, and free the lambs from 
the ticks, which gather upon them, after the ewes 
are shorn, either by dipping or hand-picking. A 
boy or girl can soon clear a few lambs of ticks, by 
killing the insects with a pair of sharp-pointed scis¬ 
sors. Both the ticks and their eggs should be nip¬ 
ped with the points of the scissors. 
Swine .—Allow pigs a run in a piece of clover, or 
an orchard. It would be good for the pigs, and 
prevent much damage from insects, if the orchard 
were kept as a pasture for swine, and managed so 
that there should always be some green crop in it 
for them to consume. Clover might be made to 
alternate with rye for this purpose. Spring pigs, 
intended for the butcher in the fall, should have as 
much grain, or boiled potatoes, as they will eat. 
There is nothing better for them than boiled pota¬ 
toes, mixed with either corn or barley meal. Stock 
hogs will do well upon a clover pasture, and an ear 
or two of corn daily. Fresh water should be given 
iu abundance Regular feeding and watering morn¬ 
ing and night, should not be neglected, because 
other work presses. Remember that hog cholera 
and other diseases are invariably caused by neglect 
of proper precaution. 
Haying .—Clover as well as grass should be cut 
before the bloom is past. Some of Professor At¬ 
water’s articles have clearly shown the extra feed¬ 
ing value of early cut hay. Prepare every thing 
for haying, that there may be no delay when the 
work commences. In the Northern States orchard 
grass and clover must be cut near the end of the 
month, and timothy soon after. Hay for sale, may 
be cut somewhat later, as it will be heavier, though 
coarser, than that cut early. 
Tools and Implements .—All those not required for 
use, should be carefully stowed away, and those 
needed should be put in the best order. Keep all 
tools bright and sharp, and machines should be 
oiled at the bearings, and greased with tallow and 
black lead at the gearings. See that all the bolts 
and nuts are tight. 
--* --— OB—-• --- 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
The rush of early planting and weeding is now 
over in the Northern States, and the first crops 
ready for use or for marketing. In sending pro¬ 
duce to market, always put it up in an attrac¬ 
tive manner, as it will command a ready sale, 
while if put up without any regard to appearance, 
they will not sell, unless there is a scarcity of the 
particular kind in market. Sec article on Packing 
and Shipping Berries on page 219. Vegetables and 
fruits will often bring a better price near home, 
than if sent to a large market. Cities are usually 
abundantly supplied, while towns aud villages are 
overlooked. Keep all crops weeded, and stir the 
soil with the hoe or cultivator, especially if the 
weather be dry. As fast as one crop is harvested, 
the ground should be freshly manured, and plowed 
and spaded, and devoted to some other crop. Keep 
the grounds around the house free from rubbish, 
bits of paper, and all such matters. Remove docks 
and sorrel from the fence rows, so that the seed may 
not be blown into the cultivated fields when ripe. 
Orchard sisaal Nursery. 
Hutching .—Newly planted trees should be mulch¬ 
ed with hay, straw, or other litter, to enable them 
to recover from the effects of moving. 
. Pruning .—June is considered by many the best 
month for removing large limbs from old trees, but 
unless one has an abundance of help, it is difficult to 
spare the time at this busy season. Cover all cuts 
with shellac Varnish, paint, or melted grafting wax. 
Grafts set last month will need looking after, and 
if any shoots have started below the graft, rub 
them off, to prevent their robbing the cion. 
Slugs on the foliage of pear, cherry, and other 
trees, may be destroyed by lime or wood ashes, 
dusted upon the leaves. 
Borers may be prevented by applying a strip of 
heavy paper, a foot or more wide, around the lower 
part of the trunk, so that the lower edge is an inch 
or so below the surface of the soil. 'Where they 
have entered the tree, a wire or whalebone may be 
used to probe for and kill them. 
Weeds must not be allowed to grow either among 
the trees in the orchard, or the young seedlings in 
the nursery, but the horse and cultivator must be 
kept in motion where they can be used witiiout 
danger to the trees. A hoe will be needed, where 
the cultivator can not go. 
Fi-nalt Garden. 
Gooseberries are usually marketed green, as they 
command a ready sale, while the ripe fruit is sel¬ 
dom seen in our eastern markets. Apply sulphur 
freely, when mildew appears, and use white helle¬ 
bore for the worms that attack these, as well as 
Currants .—Keep the soil between the rows and 
around the bushes loose. Heavy mulching will 
prolong the ripening. 
Grapes .—Tie up the growing canes before they 
become so long that the wind will break them, and 
break out all not needed for fruiting. Use soft 
cotton-twine or bass in tieing. 
Strawberries should have a mulch applied before 
the fruit gets heavy, to protect the berries from in¬ 
jury by contact with the soil. Cut hay, straw, or 
leaves are all good, and the one which is most con¬ 
venient may be used ; sawdust should not be used 
under any circumstances, as it is as bad upon the 
fruit as the earth. If new plants are needed, allow 
the runners to root, if not, cut off' as soon as they 
start, to strengthen the old plant. 
Blackberries .—Tie up the new canes to stakes 
with strong twine, and stop them when 5 to 6 
feet high. Hoe or cultivate often to kill the weeds. 
Thinning .—Most dwarf trees should have from 
one-third to one-half their fruit picked off just 
after it sets, so that the rest will be of good size 
and quality ; this will be found to more than pay 
for the trouble, besides, with young trees just com¬ 
ing into bearing, it is absolutely necessary, if the 
future good of the tree is regarded. 
Mitcinesa Ciaralesi. 
Keep the growing crops free from weeds, and do 
not allow any to go to seed. Hand cultivators and 
steel rakes, where horse-power cannot be used, are 
very effective implements, and if they are employed | 
in time, and during a hot day, they effectually kill 
young weeds, without expensive hand work. There 
is no weed that grows which cannot be exter¬ 
minated by constant cultivation. 
Asparagus .—After peas have become plenty, the 
plants should be allowed to grow up, and it will be 
well to fork in a dressing of well rotted manure. 
Pull out the weeds during the summer. 
Beans. Plant bush sorts for succession, aud Li¬ 
mas may yet be planted, with a fair prospect of a 
crop, especially if the vines are cut off at the hight 
of 0 or 7 feet. 
Beets. Plant every two weeks until July, and 
when large enough thin, and use the thinnings for 
greens. Ihe early plantings should now be large 
enough to pull. 
Cabbages. —Gather and market the early plantings, 
and prepare the ground for celery or other late 
crops. Set out plants for the late crop. Destroj' 
the cut worm and cabbage worm, which are so in¬ 
jurious to these plants. 
Celery. —The young plants in the seed bed should 
be thinned and kept clear of weeds, and when 
large enough, transplanted previous to the final 
setting, for which next month will be early enough. 
Cairots may still be sown. Thin out to two or 
three inches, and keep free from weeds. 
Corn. —Plant every two weeks at least, until July, 
and a crop may be had, if an early sort is plant¬ 
ed, even as late as the middle of the month. Any 
surplus may be easily dried for winter use. 
Cucumbers. —Sow for late crop and for pickling, 
taking care to sow the seed thickly, so that enough 
plants may be left after the bugs have destroyed 
all they require ; covers of netting are often used 
to preserve the plants from the attacks of the in¬ 
sects, but it is not practicable to protect a large 
patch. Ashes or plaster sprinkled on the leaves 
when wet, will help keep them off. 
Egg Plants. —Set out in rich warm soil, and hoe 
often ; liquid manure is beneficial. 
Lettu.ce. —There is little use in planting out lettuce 
at this season, as it quickly runs to seed, unless 
shade can be given. 
Melons. —Plant at once if not done last month, 
and give an abundance of manure, taking the same 
precautions as recommended for cucumbers. 
Onions. —Weed, and thin when necessary. Near 
a good market they generally sell best if bunched 
and marketed before they are ripe. 
Parsnips. —Weed and hoe until tjie leaves get 
large enough to cover the ground. 
Pbas generally mildew when planted late. If any 
are put in now, sow at least 6 inches deep, in rich 
soil, and stake as soon as they appear above the 
ground. Clear off the ground where the early sorts 
have been gathered, for cabbages or celery. 
Radishes may be sown in a shady spot. 
Rhubarb. —Keep the flower stalks cut, and do not 
gather too late, as this will exhaust the plants. 
Salsify and Sco)-zonera.—lloe and weed often; 
when any plants run up to flower, as they often 
do, they should be pulled out. 
Spinach. —Clear off the old beds, and plant with 
cabbage or other late growing crops. During the 
summer sow the New Zealand spinach, which 
withstands the drouth and grows rapidly, furnish¬ 
ing an abundance during the hot season. 
Squashes. —Treat same as cucumbers and melons. 
Sweet Potatoes.— Set out at once, if not done al¬ 
ready, in well manured ridges, and as soon as the 
vines show signs of rooting at the joints, move them. 
Tomatoes. —If not set yet, do it at once, and pro¬ 
vide some support, so that the fruit will not touch 
the ground, even though it is only hay or brush. 
Turnips. —Sow Ruta-baga sorts this month. If 
insects appear, which they seldom do at this sea¬ 
son, dust lime, ashes, or even road dust upon the 
young plants when the leaves are wet. 
Flower <!»;t *am«l Lawn. 
Lawns. —The lawn-mower must be used at least 
once a week, to keep the turf low', and any annual 
weeds from going to seed. Where the grass is too 
near shade trees or shrubs to be mowed, it should 
be cut with the grass hook. 
Walks need to be occasionally scufflc-hoed, to 
kill young w'eeds ; keep the center slightly higher 
than the edges, to allow the water ro run off quick- 
