AMERICAN AdRICULTIURIST. 
215 
off in time for turnips, late cabbage, broccoli, 
or celery ; the latter should be planted in 
beds, the earth thrown out one spade deep, 
the celery planted in rows one foot apart, 
and the plants from six to ten inches in the 
rows. Snapbeans will be off in time for 
cabbage, turnips, fall spinach, &c. If beans 
are wanted in the fall, they may follow oni¬ 
ons, where these have been grown from sets. 
A few cucumbers may be planted in the fruit 
border. Sugar-corn should be planted in 
drills, three feet apart, the plants six inches 
in the drills for the small early varieties, and 
about a foot for others. For a succession, 
plant from early spring till the first week in 
July, two or more drills at a time, according 
to the wants of the family. Corn may be 
planted after some of the crops named above. 
If one piece of ground is used, a portion of 
it will give you some early spinach and peas. 
Radishes may also be planted from time to 
time along the fruit border, but too much of 
this will injure the trees. A few egg-plants 
and peppers may also be planted in the fruit 
border, but not immediately under the trees. 
By the exercise of a little judgment, a varie¬ 
ty of things may be made to follow each 
other in this way, so that no spot of ground 
need necessarily remain unoccupied for a 
single day during the whole season. 
The ground must be kept free from weeds 
and well worked at all times. When the 
weather is dry, use the hoe more frequently 
than usual, (a narrow long-pronged rake is 
best), Avhich will enable the ground to ab¬ 
sorb moisture from the atmosphere, of 
which it always contains some, even in the 
driest weather. Frequent stirring of the 
soil is important in another respect, in keep¬ 
ing it open and porous, and enabling it to 
take up the gases of the atmosphere, which 
constitute no inconsiderable portion of the 
food of plants. It will also give an earlier 
and better crop. Discard the practice of 
earthing your plants, except for the purpose 
of blanching. Hilling should not be toler¬ 
ated, except in soils naturally retentive of 
moisture; the true remedy for which con¬ 
sists in underdraining, and not in hilling. 
The preceding remarks are mostly of a 
general nature, but a few words maybe said 
here of the time and labor necessary to culti¬ 
vate andjkeep in order a garden like that here 
described. A person familiar with the oper¬ 
ations to be performed, and expert in the 
use of the implements, can generally per¬ 
form the necessary labor (unless he is 
dronish) without detriment to his daily busi¬ 
ness ; on the contrary, he will find himself 
invigorated for the discharge of its duties. 
At all events, he will need but a few days’ 
assistance for the rough work. I know that 
very much more than this has been done for 
years, and will continue to be done. I 
speak this for the encouragement of those 
who desire to surround their homes with 
these luxuries, but whose means will not 
permit them to employ a permanent garden¬ 
er. Much time is lost for want of proper 
knowledge. The best advice I can give the 
novice is, first to learn what is to be done, 
and then learn how to do it, and always do 
it well. May the day come when even the 
common laborer shall be blessed with the 
comforts of a good home, and rejoice 
u under his own vine and” fruit “ tree.” 
The above article was prepared for our 
journal in September last, but as it is appro¬ 
priate for any season, we have reserved it 
till now. We furnished the original manu¬ 
script to Mr. Pardee, at his request, to be in¬ 
serted in the appendix of his work on 
“ strawberries, &c.” where it appears credit 
to the American Agriculturist, Sept. 1854, as 
it was supposed it would so appear. This 
will explain the apparent discrepancy.— Eds. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
THE VINERY. 
This being a season of comparative rest 
with the vine, it should receive particular 
attention with an eye to the crop for another 
year, as I am convinced nothing tends more 
to the beauty and fruit-bearing of the vine 
than the attention it receives at this season 
of th6 year. Supposing the early forced 
vines to be already prepared for work, I will 
speak of the later ones. Where the late 
grapes are cut, the vines should be pruned 
into one eye, and the loose bark removed 
with a knife, taking care not to injure the 
vine by letting the knife go too deep. Be 
careful to thoroughly clean the joints, as 
these offer the greatest harbor for insects, 
after they have been pruned and cleaned. I 
beg to propose the following dressing for 
them, being one which I use myself, and 
can confidently recommend it to others, 
having proved its beneficial effects. It is as 
follows : take a half pound of tobacco, to 
which add one quart of rain-water ; let it 
stand for two or three days to draw the 
strength of the tobacco ; then take three 
pounds of soft soap to two pounds of sul¬ 
phur, and wet them and mix them thorough¬ 
ly with the tobacco water, stirring the ingre¬ 
dients briskly round till a thin paste is ob¬ 
tained, when it may stand a few hours to 
settle somewhat, when it should be applied 
in the following manner: Take a large 
painting brush, dip it in the mixture, and ap¬ 
ply it as you 'would paint, using it as thick 
as possible. Should it get too thick while 
using, add more tobacco water for thinning. 
Be careful to rub it well into the joints if the 
vines have not been dressed. For the last 
two or three years a second dressing may be 
applied as soon as the first is well dried, 
after which they may be brought down to 
the front of the house till required to be put 
into work. Any one who should try this 
preparation will, I am confident, be amply 
repaid by the strength and vigor with which 
the vines will break and show. 
THE EARLY VINES. 
The early vines should now be into work, 
where fruit is wanted at the end of May or 
beginning of June. The border, if outside, 
should be covered with stable manure, which 
should be warm and thick enough to exclude 
all frost. As a great heat is not required for 
the first few weeks, let the temperature range 
from 50° to 55°, syringing with tepid water 
morning an'd evening in fine weather. On 
no account use water for syringing that is at 
a lower temperature than the house. If it 
is five degrees higher, so much the better. 
Let the vines be well dried before admitting 
air. When air is admitted it should be let in 
gradually, as nothing is more injurious to the 
vine than a strong current of air let into the 
house at once, more especially at this in¬ 
clement season of the year. As the buds 
swell, the temperature should be gradually 
raised to 60°. Also increase the warmth on 
the border to correspond with the interior. 
Seakale, asparagus, and rhubarb should be 
inmates of the house. Boxes about a foot 
deep will do for the two former, filled with 
light manure, placed over the flue, covering 
the seakale about an inch, and the asparagus 
from six to eight inches. If there is room 
under the stage the rhubarb will do ex¬ 
ceedingly well. I need scarcely add, the 
darker the situation for the seakale the 
better. As these vegetables are great luxu¬ 
ries, they will repay the little trouble and at¬ 
tention they require. 
I will, sir, if you think these remarks will 
be of any use to your numerous readers, 
follow them up with others. 
Bellpout, L. I., Nov. 16. W. SUMMERSBEY. 
We shall be glad to receive any hints 
from our’ correspondent,—E ds. 
POTASH WATER FOR FRUITLESS TREES. 
I had seen it frequently recommended in 
the public journals, to wash young fruit trees 
in a solution of potash in water. “ One pound 
of the former to one gallon of the latter,” is 
the rule laid down. Having several young 
trees in rather a sickly and diseased condi¬ 
tion, and wishing to save them, but being 
somewhat fearful of the effects of this solu¬ 
tion, I concluded to try it on one only of my 
trees, and be regulated in my subsequent 
proceedings by the result. I made my solu¬ 
tion, as directed, and applied it on a Thurs¬ 
day morning, carefully washing the entire 
trunk from the surface of the ground to the 
limbs. In one week from that day, the tree 
was dead, and on cutting in, I found the alka¬ 
line solution had saturated the wood even to 
the center of the tree ! Had I applied it to 
the others, they would doubtless have shared 
the same fate. 1 then reduced the strength 
of the wash—allowing one pound of potash 
to two and a half gallons of water, and no in¬ 
jurious consequences ensued. How potash 
water, made as in the first case, would ope¬ 
rate on old trees whose bark is thick, I know 
not, but infer that it would be less likely to 
injure them than young trees. 
On the whole, I would not recommend its 
use for this purpose in any state. Common 
soft soap, made into a strong suds, with wa¬ 
ter, or whale oil soap, answers every pur¬ 
pose, and without any danger of killing or 
injuring the tree, imparts a vigorous action 
to the cutaneous organs, and to the system 
generally. Where moss and other fungi are 
to be removed, I scrape the bark with an old 
hoe; scour them with sharp sand or ashes, 
and then apply the suds. When I have once 
succeeded in depriving a tree of its parasites, 
I never permit it to become again covered 
with them, but watch and wash every fall 
and spring. I also keep the soil clean, light 
and rich about the roots. This is one of the 
best preventives that can be adopted for this 
purpose ; for trees that are carefully man¬ 
aged and liberally manured, are seldom at¬ 
tacked by this, or any other disease. The 
system is retained in health, and will be so 
retained as long as the hand of a careful 
cultivator directs their developement and 
growth. Trees, of all kinds, require much 
care. B. 
Bensalem, Nov. I, 1854. Germantown Tel. 
DECEMBER. 
The unseen Presence with the noiseless wing — 
Time—has swept bare the bounteous earth at last, 
And Summer’s green and crimson chows have past 
From out men’s sight, like cloud-shapes when winds sing. 
The seeds, which from the year’s great ripening 
Were shaken, and with the warm earth cast, 
Live but in future life, and slumbering fast, 
Lie waiting for the vital breath of Spring. 
And all is thoughtful, vacant, dusk and still; 
A Sabbath pause, a resting everywhere, 
A sleep and a thanksgiving, which now fill 
The world, and make its bareness seem less bare. 
The winds are laid, no sound is in the rill, 
And not a murmur ripples the smooth air. 
Edmund Ollier. 
An alderman of London once requested an 
author to write a speech for him to speak at 
Guildhall. “ I must first dine with you,” 
was the reply, “ to see how you open your 
mouth, that I may know what words will 
fit it.” 
Beauty and wit will die—learning and 
wealth will vanish away—all the arts of life 
be forgotten—but virtue will remain forever. 
Planted on earth, in a cold, uncongenial 
clime, it will bloom and blossom in heaven. 
Never play at any game of chance. 
