AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Ill 
retained upon trellises to fill up all vacancies, or 
furnish branches to be laid in at the distance of 
eighteen inches apart, as fruiters hereafter. 
Nothing deteriorates the quality of the fruit, or 
renders it subject to rot, more than the over¬ 
crowding of growing wood during the Summer. 
Every leaf should be freely exposed to the action 
of light, which cannot be*the case when these 
young superfluous branches*are allowed to “ride 
over” the whole surface of the plant. 
COLD GRAPERY. 
Some care is still necessary during the earlier 
part of the month where late frosts are appre¬ 
hended. In such, keep the house cool for a few 
days, but do not neglect a free use of the syringe 
over the vines every mild evening. A liberal sup¬ 
ply of water should be sprinkled over the floor of 
the house in the morning, to maintain a moist 
and genial, but not over-stimulating atmosphere, 
which will cause the buds to swell and burst with 
vigor. When the shoots are sufficiently advanced 
to show the best ones for fruiting, and also for 
next year’s wood, all, excepting these, may be 
rubbed out. It is best, however, to leave an extra 
one on each spur, in case of accident, for, when 
fire heat is not used, the young shoots are quite 
brittle, and sometimes burst out before a sufficient 
amount of woody fibre is formed at their base to 
connect them firmly with the parent branch. For 
the same reason, they ought to be handled very 
carefully, and not be drawn down to the wires too 
soon. Towards the middle or latter part of the 
month, according as the locality is free from frosts, 
the house should be kept more closely shut, and 
the vines allowed to commence their growth in 
earnest. Let the temperature be gradually raised 
a degree or two each day, beginning with 70°, and 
increasing to 85°, in the middle of the day. Do 
not open the lower ventilators, as the cold air 
checks the circulation of the sap, paralyzing the 
action of the plants. Close the house early at 
night, use water freely overhead, and give the 
vines every chance to push into vigorous growth. 
The outside borders should also be attended to. 
We will presume that a mulching of manure was 
applied in the Fall, which should now be forked 
over, leaving the soil loose and open, to allow the 
air and sun to act upon the subsoil, thus invigor¬ 
ating the roots. If this covering of manure was 
omitted, apply it at once after lightly forking over 
the border. The Spring rains will carry the solu¬ 
ble fertilizing material to the roots as food for the 
plants. 
THE FORCING HOUSE. 
The earliest crops will now be “ stoning,” or 
in a more advanced state towards ripening. In 
fact, it is possible to have them ripe before this 
time, where no expense has been spared. When 
the last swell of the fruit commences, syringing 
overhead may be discontinued, and water entirely 
withheld inside of the house as the coloring pro¬ 
gresses. At this time, a grape-vine will be main¬ 
tained in a healthy state, if kept very dry. We 
are, however, sometimes compelled to apply 
water to prevent the encroachment of insects, 
but when this becomes a necessity, the water 
should never come in contact, with the fruit, as it 
would cause some kinds to burst their skins, and 
all would be injured in appearance by the “ bloom” 
being washed from the surface of the berries. 
For the latter reason, the bunches should not be 
touched with the fingers, or rubbed in any way, 
while hanging on the vines. As the side shoots 
continue to push fresh growth, the tops will need 
to be shortened in to one leaf above the former 
pinching; but in young canes of the present sea¬ 
son, the top may be allowed to extend, and the 
laterals shortened to one leaf as they continue to 
increase. 
The later successions of grapes will require 
the same treatment which was recorded for this 
in the last two months, and need not be repeated 
here. With the retarded crop, the atmosphere 
may be maintained as low as possible for some 
time yet, and corresponding small quantity of 
water used. 
PROPAGATION. 
If the “ eyes” or buds were planted as recom¬ 
mended in February, and have been attended to 
aright, they will now be ready for potting off. Lift 
them carefully, place each separately in a pint pot 
containing suitable earth, give a sprinkling of 
water afterwards, and replace them in a gentle 
growing temperature, keeping rather close than 
otherwise for a few days, after which, they may 
receive the same treatment as established vines 
DESTROYING THE BORERS. 
DETAILS OF EXPERIENCE. 
Mr. G. W. Harman, of Bennington, Vt., 
sends us the following valuable details of 
his observations and practice : 
Various species of trees, both fruit and orna¬ 
mental, are subject to the attacks of grub worms, 
which either kill, or seriously injure them. Among 
these worms are included the Apple and Pear 
Borers, the Peach and Plum Borers. 
The Apple Borer, as usually observed in this 
vicinity, in the trunks of the Apple, Quince and 
Mountain Ash trees, is a white, fleshy grub, with 
a flattened body and large dark head, which gene¬ 
rally enters the tree at or near the collar, just at 
the surface of the ground, where the bark is ten¬ 
der, and working longitudinally, at first, in the 
bark and new wood, eventually perforates the tree 
to the extent of many inches, up and down, or 
through the stem, diffusing a poisonous property, 
and causing its death. This grub is the larvee of 
a brown and white-striped beetle, half an inch 
long; and it remains in this grub state two or 
three years, coming out of the tree in a butterfly 
form, early in June, flying in the night time only, 
from tree to tree, after its food, and finally depos¬ 
iting its eggs during this and the next month in 
the collar of the tree. 
The Pear Borer, in appearance, is nearly iden¬ 
tical with the Apple Borer, perhaps the same in¬ 
sect, but is essentially different in its mode of 
operation—confining its ravages to the bark and 
soft wood, and moving in a crooked or zig-zag 
course around the stem, cutting a channel that 
completely arrests the downward flow of the sap. 
The Peach j}nd Plum Borers are more round and 
fleshy than the former two, and make their lodge¬ 
ment in the collar of the tree. But it is in refer¬ 
ence to the Apple and Pear Borers that I would 
more particularly speak. 
To rid my orchard of these implacable enemies, 
I repair to the trees about the 15th of August, and 
kneeling upon the ground, with a garden trowel, 
remove the soil for a few inches around'the stem, 
to the depth of three to six inches. With the 
back of my knife, I scrape the uncovered stem 
thoroughly, pressing upon every part of it, and 
several inches above the collar, to assure myself 
of its soundness, and if any yielding under the 
pressure of the knife is observed, I explore for 
the cause, which generally proves to be a Borer. 
I cut away the dead bark, and remove all the chips 
left by the Borer, sometimes following with chisel 
and mallet six or eight inches, until I find it, and 
having killed the insect, carefully clean out the 
whole wound made by it in the tree, taking care 
not to enlarge it. Ten or fifteen grubs are some¬ 
times found in a single tree. Having completed 
the examination, I replace the soil, covering with 
it, if possible, all the wounds upon the stem. In 
April, I repeat the examination, to kill such of the 
insects as may have escaped the former. An ave¬ 
rage or forty minutes to each tree is consumed in 
the two examinations. 
Various expedients had been adopted to prevent 
the beetle laying its eggs upon the trees, some 
of them partially successful, but none completely 
so, until an experiment which I tried last season. 
It was this : 
During the last week in May, I removed the 
soil from around the stems of my apple, pear and 
quince trees, to the depth of two or three inches. 
I then wound around each tree a large newspaper, 
placing the lower edge at the bottom of the cavity, 
and extending upwards the full length of the 
paper, tying the paper at the bottom and top 
firmly with twine, and loosely in two places be¬ 
tween. I then replaced the soil. In about, three 
weeks, and before the papers had rotted at the 
ground, I banked the earth around a considerable 
portion of them, and repeated it about three weeks 
later. Early in July, I loosened the upper twine, 
to prevent its cutting the trees. About the 15th 
of August, I removed the papers from the apple 
and quince trees (leaving them on the pear trees 
all Winter), and, to my great joy, not a Borer was 
to be found in those which had been banked up in 
proper season : the otners not wholly escaping. 
The reason was obvious. It was simply impossi¬ 
ble for the beetle to lay its eggs where instinct 
teaches it to deposit them. The whole time occu¬ 
pied in these operations, including the examina¬ 
tions in August, averaged twenty minutes to 
each tree. 
If our cultivators will pursue the course above 
indicated (first ridding their trees of all grubs now 
in them), they need complain no more of the 
Borer, the experience of one Summer confirming 
as an infallible preventative ^/hat would seem m 
reason to be such. 
Covering the stems with paper, inasmuch as it 
shields them from the solar rays, is very bene¬ 
ficial, promoting a thrifty growth of the stems. 
THE FARM VEGETABLE GARDEN. 
We have often been greatly surprised at 
the general absence of a well-ordered vege¬ 
table garden in farming establishments ; the 
more so, as it is a matter which addresses 
itself to the daily necessities of the house¬ 
hold. A few vegetables are grown here and 
there about the farm, and these of the most 
ordinary kind. A thorough reform is needed 
in this respect, and we hope to see it be¬ 
come general throughout the land. Every 
farmer can almost, as well as not, place on 
his table daily the choicest delicacies of the 
season, and he ought not to feel satisfied 
without doing so. Let all who have not al¬ 
ready a good vegetable garden, set apart a 
piece of ground for this purpose, and in¬ 
close it with a neat fence. It should have a 
warm exposure, be well drained, and it will 
pay well to trench it two or three feet in 
depth. If the surface soil is not so deep, it 
can be made so by the liberal addition of 
good loam : two feet in depth is none too 
much. Good old barn-yard manure must be 
used with a liberal hand : “ as we sow, so 
shall we reap.” Divide the garden into beds 
of proper size, and, when practicable, edge 
them with box; the beds should be large, 
rather than small, that the ground may not 
be wasted by unnecessary walks. Hot-beds, 
as described on page 63, are very useful. A s 
permanent fixtures, do not omit rhubarb, sea 
