1865,1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
119 
As for planting: a part of this can be done 
early before similar work will begin on the 
farm. For example: take the driest end of the 
garden and plant it with early peas, and early 
potatoes. In some warm corner, prepare a bed 
for a little lettuce. This is the first job, and it 
can all be done up in some odd half-day early 
in April. After the farm work has proceeded a 
few days, give the garden an hour, to put in 
some early sweet coi’n and potatoes. Plant 
in drills about 3 feet apart. The farm work 
may now take another jog of a week or there¬ 
abouts, when the garden will need a day’s work, 
to finish up the major part of the planting. 
Mark off the land in drills about tliree and a 
half feet apart, and plant more corn and pota¬ 
toes. Put in a second crop of peas. A few 
beds will be needed for beets, onions and such 
roots. Arrange these to occupy about the 
width of two drills, so that the cultivator, as it 
goes among the rows of corn and potatoes, 
may pass along the alleys ot these beds. Cu¬ 
cumbers, squashes, etc., will require patches by 
themselves, but the larger part of the ground 
can be so planned as to be tilled by the horse- 
cultivator, which will save much time and labor. 
Such a garden will yield greater returns than 
any corresponding part of the farm, and be pro¬ 
ductive of health and comfort for the family. 
DAPHNE MEZBRHUM. 
The Shrubbery in Spring. 
With a little care, a variety of shrubs can be 
selected, which will give a succession of bloom 
throughout the season. Early flowers, whether 
produced on shrubs or herbaceous plants, have 
a cliaim which is not possessed by later bloom¬ 
ing ones. We watch the spring flowers as a 
flaral index to learn how the season is coming 
HARKNESS’ NUKSERT TREE BIGGER. 
on. The Chinese Mag¬ 
nolia was noticed last 
month as one of our 
early flowering favor¬ 
ites, and we are also 
indebted to China for 
another hardy spring 
flowering shrub, the 
Forsythia, which now 
hangs out its golden 
bells before the leaves 
have found out that 
it is spring-time. We 
have a strong liking 
for the floral friends of 
our early days, and though we may much admire 
new things, we have not the love for them which 
we feel for those old and tried friends. Among the 
old-fashioned early spring shrubs, we hold the 
common Daphne {Daphne Mezereum) in especial 
estimation. It is a low shrub, about four feet 
high, and a native of Northern Europe. In 
England it flowers all winter, but in oaf colder 
climate it awaits the first warm days of spring, 
when it suddenly clothes its branches in “ blush¬ 
ing wreaths” of small pinkish flowers, which 
are often so thickly bestowed as to quite hide 
the stem. The engraving shows tlie summit of 
a stem, with the flowers of the natural size. 
The flowers have a pleasant fragrance, and 
are succeeded by red berries. Thus far, we 
have only spoken well of our old friend 
Daphne, but to tell the wliole truth, it must 
be stated that its bark is found in the drug 
shops, and it consequently has some bad quali¬ 
ties. The fresh inner bark, when applied to 
the skin, produces blistering, and if chewed, 
causes a great irritation in the month and tliroat, 
and if-taken into the stomach, produces violent 
effects. In England the plant is sometimes cal¬ 
led “ Garland Tree,” but in this country it is 
usually known as Daphne, or Mezereum. There 
is a variety with white flowers, and one with 
purple foliage. The plants arc sold in the nur¬ 
series at 50 cents each, and may be raised from 
seed, or by layers. So-w seed as soon as ripe, or 
they will not germinate until the second year. 
Our native Splce-busli {Benzoin odoriferum), 
which has its slender twigs covered with small 
yellow flowers, is very common in clamp woods, 
and should be introduced into the slirubbery 
where there is a rather moist and shady locality. 
Harkness’ Nursery Tree Digger. 
Mr. S. T. Kelsey, McLean Co., Ill, sends us a 
drawing and description of an implement used 
in western nurseries, for digging up trees as 
they stand in nursery rows. The machine was 
invented by Mr. Edson Harkness, was brought 
into use and improved by Mr. C. K. Overman, 
and furtber improved by Mr. Kelsey. We 
allow Mr. K. to describe its merits in his own 
language, with the remark that the machine is 
not patented, and that, while it is used in some 
large western nurseries, the eastern nursery¬ 
men do not think favorably of digging in any 
other way than by the spade. The engraving re¬ 
presents the machine drawn to a scale. “ The 
plate, a, is of steel, i inch thick, and bent, as 
shown in the sketch, it being 28 inches wide be¬ 
tween the upright portions. The point in front 
of the blade serves to steady it; it should be 
bent a little downward. The blade passes 
through the earth, under and along each side of 
the trees, at any desired depth, cutting off the 
roots with a clean, smooth cut, without injury 
by breaking or mutilation. The iron bars, 
6, 6, are | inch thick, and 3 inches wide, and 
bent outward, so that the whiffletree hooks are 
36 inches apart. The handles are set so that 
the bows are 4 feet apart. Two sharp knives, 
c, c, serve to cut any rubbish which would 
otlierwise clog the digger. If kept sharp, tlicy 
seldom pass over any rubbish without culting- 
it, and, being placed obliquelj% they never clog. 
The whifflctrces are 15 inches long, and are the 
same as used for ordinary nursery work. The 
plate must be polished smoctli and bright, and 
sharpened with a file. It is well to carry the 
file along wbiie using the machine, so as to 
sltarpeii it as needed. The machine is drawn 
by four strong, steady horses, with a gait aa 
nearly alike as possible,—in heavy digging, we 
have used six.. The hind team is hitched so that 
a horse will go each side of the row. The head 
team is hitched to the same whiffletrees, in front 
of the otlier by lengthening out the tugs by 
means of ropes or chains, which are kept out of 
the way by fastening them up to the harness of 
the hind horses. To work the machine, a man, or 
good bo}', is required on each horse, and a man 
at each handle. The “ boss ” of the work should 
be a man of good, practical common sense, and 
have charge of one of the handles of the ma¬ 
chine. The digger is set a few feet back from 
the end of the row, in order that it may run 
deep enough when it comes under the trees, and 
tlie liorses should all si art together, at a steady 
walk. The men at the handles guide the digger 
and see tliat all goes right. If the blade runs 
too deep, lower the front end of the bars, and 
raise lliem if it runs too shallow. This can be 
done by changing the attachment of the bars,?*, 
to the upright portion of the blade which has 
several holes, to allow the bolts to be placed at 
different bights, as shown in the engraving. If 
there is not room at the end of the row to allow 
the team to pull the digger through, the remain¬ 
ing trees must be dug with a spade. With a 
team and men, as above described, %ve have dug 
40,000 heavy 4 year old apple trees in a day, but 
25,000 is a good average day’s work. We have 
dug maples, 3 inches through, with 4 horses. 
The digger now costs $40 or $50 to make; it 
would probably wmrk well in sandy soils, but 
not among gravel or stones. The advantages 
of using the digger are; 1st. The trees can be 
dug at one-fourth the expense of digging with 
spades, 2d. They can be dug in a very short 
time, and there is no delay in filling orders. 
3d. It does the work better than it can be done 
with spades. 4lh. The trees are dug and heeled 
in at the same time. The roots being simply 
cut at a distance from the stem, the tree is left 
standing, with the earth undisturbed around its 
fibres, and may be left, with perfect safety, over 
winter, or through the next summer. Any tree 
can be taken from the row without disturbing 
the others. 5th. We can dig evergreens, and il 
■we do not wish to take them all out, we cw 
