1869.] 
319 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
cattle and hoi's hold their own unless warmly shel¬ 
tered. Animals in good condition are easily main¬ 
tained so, unless exposed to great cold, for they are 
already as if well blanketed. Horses and sheep 
bear vicissitudes of weather better than other stock 
if they have enough to eat, but if either is al¬ 
lowed to run down, it is hard to get them up again. 
Hogs .—Feed old corn (ground) if you have it,— 
it gives them a splendid start. Grind and cook all 
grain fed to swine if you would get the full benefit 
of it. There is a difference of 25 per cent in favor 
of grinding alone, and we doubt not nearly or 
quite as much more in favor of cooking. How¬ 
ever, there is probably little loss in feeding “nub¬ 
bins ” and soft corn whole, if fed early, and it 
makes a relishable variety. A few handfuls of 
charcoal mixed with some ashes and a little sul¬ 
phur, makes an excellent tonic and regulator for 
almost any kind of stock, and especially for swine. 
It will be eaten readily if a little meal be thrown 
upon it. The prospect is that grain of all kinds 
will bear a low price, and the best way to get our 
money’s worth will probably be to have the pork 
fattened early, and held ready to kill or market. 
Beeves that are to be ripened off and marketed 
this fall should be early in condition to sell, and 
held readj' for shipment at the shortest notice. 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
Now is the month of the harvest, and each one 
should show what he has been doing. Take the 
best of the products to the County fair. If a 
neighbor has something better, talk with him and 
learn how he produced it. Do not think it is nec¬ 
essary to carry Duchess pears or prize dahlias, but 
if you have a squash, cabbage, or anything that 
seems good to you, take it to the fair and see who 
produces better and how he does it. Take the best 
fruits' of the orchard, kitchen garden, and flower 
garden, and help make up a show, whether compet¬ 
ing for a premium or not. The best show of fruits 
we ever saw was one in which no premiums were 
awarded. It must be a poor orchard or garden 
which does not produce one thing worthy of being 
looked at by others. 
Orchard and Xursery. 
Planting .—Where the autumns are mild, by all 
means plant all hardy trees in autumn, except 
stone fruits, which do not seem to do so well. It 
will be a month or more yet before trees can be ob¬ 
tained from the nurseries, but now is a good time 
to prepare the soil for them. Put on a plenty of 
the best manure, and plow and subsoil until the 
whole is as well prepared as for a garden. 
Order trees early from the nurseries. All the 
State Societies publish lists, but these need modi¬ 
fications to sqit particular sections. Plant chiefly 
of the sorts known to succeed in your neighbor¬ 
hood, and try others which promise well. If plant¬ 
ing for market, have but few varieties, and those of 
productive and marketable sorts. 
Picking and Packing of autumn fruits require 
considerable judgment. They must be taken from 
the tree when fully matured, and yet before they 
hare begun to mellow. This is especially the case 
with autumn pears, which ought always to reach 
the retailer before they are in eating condition. 
The fruit will give better satisfaction to the con¬ 
sumer, and the shipper will be saved much loss. 
In packing apples use new barrels; open the bot¬ 
tom of the barrel and place in a layer of good fruit 
with the stems towards the head, or downwards; 
then fill in with fruit properly packed, and put the 
bottom head on with pressure, so that there will 
be no shaking. 
Fallen Fruit is of as much importance, in one 
respect, as that which is picked; it usually con¬ 
tains insects, and should be gathered regularly. 
The best use to make of fallen apples is to grind, 
press, and make vinegar of them. If sufficient 
care can be given, the sound part of such apples 
and pears may be cut out and dried or preserved. 
Drying Fruit is treated of on page 310. Much 
of the drying.is done in the open air by sun heat. 
Where this is the case, it will be found to be a great 
help to have a room which can be readily heated 
by a stove, to which the fruit can be removed on a 
damp day, or during a rainy spell. 
Budding.— Examine the stocks which have been 
worked, and if the bandages arc too tig-lit, loosen 
them. In many cases it. is not too late to re-bud if 
the bark will •“ run.” Quince stocks and Deaches 
are usually in good condition this month. 
Nursery Trees may be pruned to bring them into 
proper shape, and their growth improved by 
Manuring .—This is done by opening a shallow 
furrow between the rows, placing in it a well-pre¬ 
pared compost, and covering it again with the plow. 
Seeds, of all the stone fruits especially, must not 
be allowed to get. dry. Mix peach-, plum, and such 
seeds, with sandy earth, and at the proper time they 
should be exposed to frost. 
Fruit G.n’don. 
In most localities fall planting is to be recom¬ 
mended, at least for all places having the warm and 
long autumn of the vicinity of New York. A rich, 
deep soil is to be secured by previous preparation. 
Blackberries arc sufficiently treated of on page 339. 
Raspberries require similar treatment, in regard to 
pruning, as blackberries. Some kinds throw up an 
abundance of suckers, which should not be allowed 
to grow unless more plants are needed. 
Black caps, it should be understood, propagate 
by the rooting of the tips of the canes only. Ordi¬ 
narily, they do this without any attention, but if 
winds prevent the tips from taking root, throw 
only enough earth upon them to hold them in place. 
Strawberries .—Keep beds planted this fall clear of 
both weeds and runners. Runners started in pots 
maybe put out at anytime, as may those which 
have to be carried but so short a distance that their 
roots will not get dry. It is not advisable to get 
plants from a distance at this season unless in pots. 
Grapes .—Use scissors in gathering, to avoid injur¬ 
ing the bloom. The early varieties are picked 
for market as soon as they color 
Kitclicn Gni-den. 
Clear away all old stuff, such as spent crops of 
beans, and whatever may be cumbering the ground 
without profit. Plow in manure, and prepare for 
the winter crops. 
Becfas.— String beans are to be gathered and salt¬ 
ed for winter use. The Limas will now be in per¬ 
fection. If there are more than will be needed, 
shell and dry them for winter; when frost comes it 
will be too late. 
Cabbages and Cauliflower .—The time for sowing 
seed for winter plants in the neighborhood of New 
York is from the 10th to the 30th of the present 
month. Sow the seeds in the open ground in a 
well-prepared bed. The Early Wakefield is the 
favorite with us, but the Fottler and others will 
contest the superiority with it. Keep the seed 
beds well weeded, and sprinkle lime upon the 
plants if the “ Ilea ” appears. 
Borecole or Kale, more popularly known as 
“ sprouts,” is to be sown this month. See page 339. 
Corn should now be dried for winter use. Some 
prefer to salt it. It is cut from the cob without 
boiling, and packed in ajar with salt. 
Cucumbers .—Gather those for pickles at least 
every other day. See page 339. 
Celery .—Earth up, as may be required, that grown 
in trenches. Celery grown in flat culture is to be 
earthed up only about ten days before it is re¬ 
quired, and the crop for winter is left until later. 
Endive .—Blanch as required, either by placing 
mats over it or by tying. An old gardener, a 
neighbor of ours, prefers tying, not at the tips, but 
about half way down the leaves. 
Melons .—By this time it will be easy to tell which 
will ripen. Pick off the rest and use for mangoes. 
At any rate it is better to remove them. 
Onions .—See that they are thoroughly cured be¬ 
fore storing, and then they should bo in such thin 
layers or such small packages that they cannot 
heat. Onion sets, as well as top onions, arc to be 
spread thinly in a cool loft. 
Radishes .—Sow the winter varieties, especially 
the Chinese Rose-colored Winter. 
Shallots .—The majority of the young onions sold 
in our markets in early spring are shallots. These 
are set this month, placing the little bulbs six 
inches distant, in rows a foot apart. Keep clear of 
weeds as long as the ground can be worked. 
Spinach .—The crop to winter over is sown about 
the 10th of the month in the latitude of New 
York. The rows are 12 to 15 inches apart. When 
the plants eotne up, thin and weed them. 
Sweet Potatoes .—When the first frost touches the 
vines, dig them. It. often happens that a “mess” 
can be filched from the rows by carefully feeling in 
and taking out the longer roots before if becomes 
necessary to dig. 
Tomatoes .—Make catsup and can while the fruit 
is at its best. Later, it is poor and watery stuff. 
The large green “ worm ” will still depredate upon 
foliage and fruit, and will need crushing.- 
Turnips .—No plant better repays good culture 
than the Rufa-baga or Swedes turnip. It should 
be thinned so as to have room to grow, and then 
be encouraged by frequent lroeings. A little good 
phosphate helps it wonderfully. Round turnips 
may still be sown and make a crop. 
Winter Cherry. —Pick the fruits as fast as they 
ripen, and use them for preserves, or spread them 
for whiter use. 
Manure .—Accumulate from all available sources. 
Use all the garden refuse and all weeds which have 
no ripened seeds ; these, stratified in a heap with 
stable manure, will give a splendid compost. 
Flower Garden and Lawn. 
Chrysanthemums will now need stakes. They 
give such a gay appearance to the garden a month 
or more later that they should now have proper 
care. Pot those intended for blooming indoors as 
soon as the buds are well formed. 
Cannas .—A correspondent informs us that if the 
finer kinds are allowed to be touched by frost be¬ 
fore the roots are lifted, he has great difficulty in 
preserving them through the winter; therefore, 
with all but our common Canna Jndica, it will be 
safest to take up the plants before the frost in¬ 
jures them, lay them under a shed, and allow 
the roots to mature. 
Dahlias should now be in their prime. Tic them 
to stakes as needed, and put in auxiliary ones for 
the branches. Remove all misshapen buds, and 
the flowers as soon as they have lost their beauty. 
Herbaceous Perennials may, many of them, be 
lifted and divided this month, especially those 
which lose their foliage early. P;eonies can only 
be successfully removed in autumn. Sow seeds of 
such perennials as ripen now, and they will make 
plants which, with a little protection, will pass the 
winter safely, and will bloom next year. 
Bulbs of the spring-blooming kinds, such as hya¬ 
cinths, tulips, etc., which were taken up earlier in 
the season, may be reset the last of this month or 
early next. If purchases are to be made, procure 
a supply as soon as the dealers receive their bulbs. 
Pits and Cellars are much in requisition for win¬ 
tering half hardy plants. A brick pit will keep 
many things through the winter which are ordi¬ 
narily put into a green house, and a dry, frost-proof 
cellar, which is well lighted, will preserve the 
plants about as well as a pit. 
an<l Window Plants. 
Green-houses and their heating apparatus should 
be put in thorough repair, as it is very annoying to 
have work going on after the plants are taken in. 
Plants in Pots, whether they are to go into the 
green-house or the windorv, should be looked to. 
They must not be allowed to suffer from dryness. 
