34 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
lTebruaby. 
Plowing can very seldom be done this month 
with profit. Very dry and porous soil may some¬ 
times be broken up, however, and with advantage. 
Poultry.— Examine carefully for vermin ; grease, 
or better, whitewash the roosts. Clean out the 
nests, put in fresh straw, and whitewash the whole 
poultry house. 
Roots are a substitute for green feed, which no 
good farmer ought to be without. Sort over all 
kinds, separating the soundest to keep latest into 
the spring. Feed the partially decayed and wilted 
at once. Be careful not to feed decayed turnips, 
'•ntabagas, or cabbages to milch cows—the milk will 
taste. Cook before feeding, all that are not entire¬ 
ly fresh and sound. 
Sheep .—Some lambs intended to be marketed 
early, will be dropped this month. The ewes should 
be kept at night in tight, well ventilated stables, 
without much litter, for some time before and 
after yeaning. Pregnant ewes should not be denied 
exercise, nor furnished with stimulating diet. Some 
turnips daily are very desirable. Exercise promotes 
health of the ewes, vigor of the lambs, and a full 
flow of milk—and the ewes must be forced to take 
it, in cold, snowy winters like the present one. 
Swine .—Store pigs will often pay for their keep 
by the work they do on the manure, and the man¬ 
ure they will make if plenty of muck has been 
laid in. See that they do not pack the manure so 
hard that it will not ferment at all. Encourage 
them to work it over by dropping nubbins into holes 
made with a bar. A breeding sow, irritated by 
other animals, fed on corn meal, and withal a little 
constipated at the time of farrowing, is apt to be 
very cross and sometimes to eat her young. Prevent 
this by giving a daily feed of raw potatoes, or other 
roots, with bran or linseed meal instead of Indian, 
not allowing her to be disturbed, nor to become 
fat. Give a clean well littered sty, and watch her at 
the time and after farrowing, giving her a warm 
bran mash as soon as she will eat. 
Wood .—Cut and haul fire-wood for next winter. 
Wool .—See the report on wool market, elsewhere. 
Orchard a ad Nursery. 
But little out-of-door work can be done this 
month, except to afford the required protection to 
trees and shrubs. Great care should be taken to 
exclude stock of all kinds from the nurseries and 
young orchards, and to guard against a heavy accu¬ 
mulation of snow upon evergreens and shrubs. 
During mild, thawing weather the trunks of old 
trees may be scraped and washed over with a strong 
solution of soft soap or weak lye. This will re¬ 
move the moss and loose bark, and conduce both 
to the health and appearance of the tree. 
Cions may be cut during mild weather, any time 
before the buds begin to swell: keep in a cool cel¬ 
lar in damp earth or moss. Root grafting, where 
it is carried on extensively, will afford sufficient in¬ 
door employment. Ample directions were given 
in January. Those who do grafting by contract 
are desirous of beginning their season as early as 
possible; but cions put in too early are exposed a 
long while to cold drying winds, and are less likely 
to succeed, than if inserted after vegetation starts. 
Manure and compost may be hauled to places 
where they will be needed in spring. We have so 
often insisted upon the importance of sending 
orders to the nurseries before the spring’s business 
opens, that we merely allude to it now. 
I&itclien Garden. 
As in the other horticultural departments, there 
is little to add to the suggestions given last month. 
Not much can be done at the North before March; 
Cold Frames should have plenty of air on mild, 
warm days, and abundant protection on cold ones. 
Hot-Beds. In nearly all the localities now reach¬ 
ed by the Agriculturist, these will not be needed un¬ 
til next month. Every thing should be in readi- 
ueee with a good supply of long stable manure. 
Horse Radish. This may be dug whenever the 
ground is thawed. If not marketed or used at once, 
cover with earth in the cellar to keep it fresh. 
Pea Brush, Bean Poles, stakes and supports of 
every kind—procure them before the busy season. 
Rhubarb. Small quantities may forced by taking 
up roots and putting them in boxes of earth in the 
green-house, when leaves will soon be produced at 
the expense of the roots. It may also be forced in 
the beds, by placing a box or barrel open at both 
ends, over a plant, and then piling an abundance of 
fresh stable manure around it. A cover should be 
put on during freezing weather and at night. 
Seeds .—It is vain to expect good results from 
poor seeds and we cannot too often repeat the ad¬ 
vice to buy from reliable sources only. If you 
know no responsible dealer, send for a catalogue 
to some one of those who advertise with us, and 
order seeds by mail. The postage on seeds is only 
2 cents per }£ lb., and if it were much more, it 
would be cheaper to pay it than to buy poor seeds. 
Tools .—It is not well to wait until tools are need¬ 
ed, before supplying deficiencies. Buy only the 
best. Get the lightest, if equally efficient. A few 
ounces weight in a spade, fork, or other tool, make 
a great difference in the comfort of using it. Make 
all needed repairs in advance. 
Fruit Garden. 
Make selections and send orders for such plants 
as will be needed. Make cuttings of currants and 
gooseberries, and bury them in earth or treat them 
as directed for quince cuttings on page 49. If 
it is intended to grow the bushes to a single 6tem, 
cut out all the buds from the part which will go in 
the ground. Neglected grape vines may be pruned 
during mild weather. Save the cuttings for plant¬ 
ing in spring, by burying them in the cellar. In 
pruning, leave at least an inch of wood above the 
bud. Look out for mice and rabbits, which will 
often do much mischief. Tramp the snow around 
the plants to keep out the mice. It is said by sev¬ 
eral, that greasing the lower parts of the trunks 
will prevent trouble by rabbits. We have never 
tried it, but it has been asserted by so many that 
there must be some ground for the statement'. 
Flotvcr Garden and Lawn. 
The labor here is mainly anticipatory. Now is 
a good season to note where the introduction of 
evergreens would improve the appearance of the 
grounds. Have all plans for improvement well 
considered before the working season comes on. 
Cold Frames .—Air every mild day; guard against 
frost on cold ones. Plants need very little water. 
Evergreens .—Shovel away snow banks from around 
the lower branches of evergreens to keep them 
from being broken when the snow settles, and 
shake the accumulations from the upper branches 
while the snow is yet light. 
Protection .—See that the straw, matting, earth or 
other protecting material for tender plants, is not 
displaced by any accident. If the Rhododendrons 
have not been covered, put up some kind of shelter, 
to protect them from the alternations of heat and 
cold which occur in spring. 
Shrubbery .—This is often injured by heavy col¬ 
lections of snow in the branches, which should be 
shaken out before it becomes icy. Pruning and 
thinning out may be done in mild weather. 
Trellises.— Make, repair and paint at this season. 
Aim at neat, plain, rather than fanciful forms. 
Green and IIot-EIonscs. 
The directions for temperature noted for last 
month should be observed. Ventilate whenever 
Uus external temperature is above 45 Q . 
Annuals .—Sow seed of Phlox, Rhododendron, 
Nemophilas, and others intended for growing in 
pots. Where there is space, fill it with annuals. 
Azaleas should now be in full glory. Give plenty 
of water during the blooming and growing season. 
Bedding Plants .—Put in cuttings for a stock to 
plant out in spring. A good supply of Verbenas, 
Lantanas, Ageratums, and the like, is always needed. 
See articles on propagating from cuttings, page 49. 
Bulbs .—Bring forward from a cool to a warm and 
light place, a few at a time, in order to have a suc¬ 
cession of bloom. 
Climbers. —Lophospcrmums, Cobaea, Maurandias 
and others, to be started from seeds, may be sown. 
Camellias .—Keep the foliage clean, but avoid 
wetting the flowers, as this will discolor the petals. 
Carnations .—Propagate by cuttings. Give water 
more freely as they push their growth. 
Fuchsias .—These having had their season of rest, 
may be cut back, repotted, and started into growth. 
If vigorous plants are wanted, cut back severely. 
Insects .—If Dot watched these will get the mast¬ 
ery. Syringing will destroy many. Whale oil soap 
and fumigation must be used for the more obsti¬ 
nate. The Insect Powder sold at the drug stores, 
which is the powdered flower of a species of Pyre- 
thrum, is sa}d to be efficient, in powder or infusion. 
Lantanas .—Bring into growth same as Fuchsias. 
Pelargoniums .—Pinch back to get 6tocky plants. 
Give rich soil and plenty of water, with an occa¬ 
sional taste of liquid manure. Make cuttings now. 
Re-pot all plants needing it. Give Gloxinias and 
Gesncrias plenty of pot room. 
Syringe freely to keep up a proper degree of 
moisture in the atmosphere. 
Water .—Give what is required, but avoid excess. 
The water should be of the temperature of the 
house. In the absence of a tank, water may be 
kept in a tight barrel, sunk into the earth, within 
the house. 
Apiary m February. 
Prepared by M. Quinby—liy Request. 
The period of inactivity with bees will extend 
through most of February, yet there will probably 
be a few days sufficiently warm to waken those 
standing in the open air. If snow is on the ground, 
which has lain long enough to be a little hard, the 
bees may be allowed to fly at pleasure. A warm 
day immediately after a fresh snow, will often call 
out the bees. They settle on the snow for rest, and 
in attempting to rise, they manage to make a hole 
deep enough to bury themselves out of the sun¬ 
shine, and perish. Place a wide board on the sunny 
side of the hives, to shade and keep them as cool 
as possible. It is desirable to keep bees in by some 
other means than closing the hive, because as many 
will be likely to perish in vain endeavors to get out, 
as would be lost in the snow if let out. The thick 
. wall of a straw hive, being almost a non-conductor 
of heat, is not much affected by a few hours of sun¬ 
shine, consequently the bees seldom issue when 
the weather is unsuitable... .Before bees flyout 
and mark their locality, they should be placed on 
their summer stand. If any stands are to be chang¬ 
ed, do it now. Have a separate stand for each hive, 
where there is room, and let them be at least six 
feet apart. If it is decided to pack the bees close 
together in a bee-house, let the hives be of different 
colors, alternating with each other. It is also 
important to prepare for rearing queens artifi¬ 
cially, to supply the colonies that lose them 
in the swarming season....Bees in winter quart¬ 
ers should remain as nearly undisturbed as pos¬ 
sible. Shouldany become uneasy, as will be shown 
by some of them leaving the hive, and smearing 
their combs with foeces, they should be set out of 
doors the first suitable day that occurs, for an 
airing, and returned again. They ma/ be fed, if 
necessary, by inverting the necessitous hive and 
putting a little honey upon the empty combs. 
The farmer whose pigs got so lean that they 
would crawl through the cracks of their pen, 
stopped their “ fun ” by tying knots in * v »ir tails. 
