367 
1875] AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
thought of, and plenty of room given each kind 
of stock by itself. 
Colts should now be handled carefully, and 
taught to lead by the halter. They should be treat¬ 
ed with the greatest kindness and gentleness, and 
a little extra feed be given, now that the pastures 
are dry and hard. A pint of crushed oats, or oats 
and rye bran daily, will be a great help to them. 
Milch Cows.— As the pastures become poor, two 
quarts of meal and bran, per day, should be given 
to each cow. It is supposed to be “ natural ” that 
cows should shrink in their milk at this season. It 
is “natural” that they should do this when their 
food shrinks, or when, by exposure to cold rains 
or frosty nights, a portion of their food is taken 
from making milk to keeping them warm, but in 
no other sense. It is poor economy to starve a cow- 
now, and throw away food in feeding her up again 
in the spring. Old grass has much less nutriment 
in it than young fresh grass, and the difference 
must be made up by other feed. Read Prof. Atwa¬ 
ter’s articles on feeding stock carefully and 
thoughtfully. 
Swine. —Pork is high, and must be high for some 
time. But when the bulk of the crop comes upon 
the market, it may not keep its present price. 
Those who turn off their hogs quickly, will proba- 
ably make the most money. At any rate, they will 
make their pork cheaper. It is the quickly fatten¬ 
ing animal that pays, and this is precisely where it 
pays to raise pigs from pure bred boars, because 
they grow and turn feed into pork quickly. 
Store Pigs should be pushed ahead as quickly as 
possible, before cold weather. One pound of food 
now, is worth two in January, in making flesh, and 
the growth next season will be in proportion to the 
growth made now. Youug pigs will be brought 
on quickly by giving them a mess of skim milk and 
cooked meal, after having fed them with cooked 
mush, cold, without milk. This tempts them to 
eat more food than they would otherwise do. 
Sheep. —Fine wool is but 44 cents a pound, which 
is lower than it has been since 1857. Yet we would 
not kill off Merino ewes. But we would, for one 
season, shut up our Merino rams, and buy or hire 
a Cotswold, and raise some cross bred lambs. 
There are ups and downs in all businesses, and the 
too common disposition to discard a staple thing 
because it is temporarily out of favor, is one of the 
great faults of our farming. It is especially so as 
regards sheep keeping and wool growing. 
Breeding Euies should be put to the ram in Octo¬ 
ber, for March lambs. If lambs are not wanted so 
early, the ram should be kept apart another month. 
Where flocks run out the whole season, as in parts 
of the west and south, it is better for the lambs to 
come in April and early in May. There are fewer 
losses through cold and late storms. 
Poultry. —The hen-house should have a thorough 
cleansing and whitewashing, to get rid of vermin, 
and the fowls should be well fed, if plenty of eggs 
are wanted for the holidays. It is too late to feed 
hens just when eggs are looked for. At the end of 
the month turkeys and fowls for the “ thanksgiv¬ 
ing” market should be put in coops and fed with 
soft food. Corn-meal boiled in milk, will produce 
very white and sweet flesh. Poultry thus fed, may 
be made as fat as possible in three weeks. 
Sundry Matters.— Everything about the granaries 
and com cribs should be made safe against vermin. 
Several cats may be fed at the cost of feeding one 
dog, and as they will earn their feed far more 
profitably, it will pay to encourage a few cats about 
the farm. Make holes where they can get in and 
out of the buildings and under them, but a foot or 
more above the ground, that skunks may not take 
possession. Procure a safe lantern, and do not 
burn kerosene in the barn and stables. A candle 
lantern is the safest. Provide hooks upon which 
to hang the lantern in safe places. Cut and grind 
all the fodder and feed when it can be made to pay. 
Give salt to the stock regularly but sparingly. Half 
an onuce a day, is a safe allowance for large ani¬ 
mals. See to the water supply, and do not let the 
wash from the roofs flood the barn-yard. Observe 
closely, and think about what you see. The result 
of this is what is called experience, and the more a 
man has, the more profitable his labor ought to be. 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
Now is ripeness, the fullness of the season, and 
the harvest! While we look back with satisfac¬ 
tion upon the labors of the season now closing, we 
must also look forward to those of the season 
which, after a period of rest, will open anew. The 
cultivator works with faith in the promise that seed 
time and harvest shall continue, and with faith 
too, that whatever advocates of development may 
claim to take place in uncounted ages, so far as he 
is concerned, like will produce like. There is no 
department in which much work of anticipation 
may not be done, and it will not only save time, 
which in spring is always crowded, but work done 
now is much better done. In these golden October 
days, when it is a pleasure to be in the open air, 
one can do much more than in the cold, drizzling, 
uncertain days of April. Of course many things 
must be done in spring, and at no other time, but 
there is enough which can be done now to keep all 
hands busy until cold weather sets in. 
Orchard, and Nursery. 
Picking is the pressing work in the orchard this 
month. The fruit-grower should know the peculi¬ 
arities of each variety; some must be marketed at 
once, some autumn varieties come into eating con¬ 
dition in a week or two after picking, while others 
keep into early winter. The latest or winter sorts 
should be left on the trees until there is danger of 
hard frosts, or the readiness with which the fruit 
and the leaves part from the tree shows that 
growth is complete and the fruit has nothing more 
to gain by hanging. We have often insisted upon 
the importance of 
Assorting, but it is a matter that cannot be too 
often repeated. No work done by the fruit-grower 
w-ill pay so well. If you doubt it, put up 10 lbs. of 
fruit as it comes from the tree, and assort the same 
quantity, making 5 lbs. of extra, 8 lbs. fair, and 2 
lbs. seconds, and note the returns of the two lots. 
A few poor apples will spoil the 6ale of a barrel of 
good ones ; the whole will be judged by the poorest. 
Winter Fruit, w-liether apples or pears, must be 
kept as cool as may be and not freeze ; do not put 
it into the cellar until cool nights make it advisable. 
Pears vary more, and need more careful watching 
than apples, and it will pay the grower to study the 
peculiarities of each sort. New half barrels lined 
with white paper, with the fruit packed in solid by 
hand, are the most profitable packages for all ex¬ 
cept fine specimens of high colored fruit, such as 
Beurre Clalrgeau, Beurre d’ Anjou, etc. ; these 
should be wrapped singly in soft paper, placed in 
single layers in shallow- boxes, and sold by count. 
Ordering Trees, whether planting is done in fall or 
next spring, is advisable now. The trees are taken 
up in less hurry, they are less delayed in transpor¬ 
tation, and when at hand can be set at once or in 
spring as may seem best, they may be kept until 
spring if 
Heeled-in, just as safely as if they stood in the 
nursery. A trench or ditch is opened in a place 
where water will uot stand ; the trees are laid in 
one at a time, in a slanting position, (about 45°), 
covering the roots of each with fine soil; each lot 
of varieties should be separated from the next by a 
marking stake, so that there will be no confusion. 
See that earth is well filled in among the roots and 
no hollows left, and before cold weather the earth 
should be banked up well around them. 
Planting and Varieties. —Refer to the notes given 
last March. What is said there is equally applica¬ 
ble now. The question of fall planting must be 
governed by locality ; but for all but stone fruits, 
except where the winter is very severe, fall is the 
preferable season. Choose small thrifty trees. 
Fruit Garden. 
Blackberries and Baspberries start so early in spring 
that it is better to set them in fall, as they receive 
a check if disturbed in spring uuless they are taken 
up very early. If it is desired to propagate, then 
root cuttings should be made this month or next, 
when growth has ceased. Cut the roots into two 
or three inch pieces and pack in a box with alter¬ 
nate layers of earth. Bury the box where frost 
will not reach it, and water will not stand. Next 
spring the pieces are to be planted in nursery rows. 
In propagating 
Black Caps, a little earth should be thrown over 
the tips whicli touch the ground, to prevent the 
wind from blowing them about. 
Currants and Gooseberries. —About a year is 
gained by putting in cuttings of these now, instead 
of next spring. Make cuttings six inches long, of 
this year’s growth, set four inches apart, in rows, 
leaving one bud above the surface. If the soil is 
properly packed, crowded firmly against the cut¬ 
tings, every one should make a plant. 
Grapes. —We get numerous inquiries asking how 
to keep grapes, without any mention of the kinds. 
It is of no more use to try to keep Concords until 
Christmas than it i3 to try Early Harvest Apples. 
Catawba, Isabella, Diana, and Iona are the best 
keepers in general cultivation ; Walter and some 
less generally disseminated, also keep well. Con¬ 
cords, Delawares, and all others with a tender skin, 
will spoil. The keeping sorts are picked when 
fully ripe, allowed to “ cure ” a few days in shallow 
trays, in order to toughen their skins ; they are then 
packed in boxes, (usually 5 lbs.), and kept at as low 
and even a temperature as possible. 
Strawberries. —Mulch before very severe weather. 
Vines may be planted now. Prune after the 
leaves fall, and save the wood for cuttings if re¬ 
quired. Where practicable it is well to remove the 
vines from the trellis, lay them down and cover 
with a few inches of earth. 
Kitchen Garden. 
As soon as the crop is removed from a piece of 
land, it should have a good dressing of manure and 
be plowed or spaded. This not only in good part 
prepares the land for spring, but turns under vari¬ 
ous weeds that would continue to grow until freez¬ 
ing weather. All clearing up of rubbish that can 
be done now will save time in spring, and destroy 
various insects which pass the winter in the pupa 
state among litter. It is well to have a burn-heap 
to which all rubbish, brush, and the like, should be 
taken and burned, and the ashes saved for garden 
use. A garden of considerable size needs a place 
where three heaps can be made ; (1), the compost 
heap where all green refuse and weeds without 
seeds, sods, and the like may be converted into 
manure. (2). The burn-heap, where seed-bearing 
weeds, if any get large enough, can be burned with 
the rubbish, and (3), a heap for stones that are 
raked out of the soil, and which may come in play 
in making paths, and for other uses. 
Asparagus beds may be set in the fall as well as 
in spring. Give old beds a thick coat of manure 
before winter, and spade or fork in lightly. 
Beets and Carrots. —Those for table use should not 
be touched by frost; they may be kept fresh and 
plump by packing in sand; Carrots may be pre¬ 
served the same way. 
Cabbages will continue to grow until hard frosts. 
Young plants for wintering are put in cold frames 
late this month or early next. 
Celery.— That for winter use if not already hand¬ 
led, should be attended to; the soil is drawn 
towards the plants with the hoe; the leaves are 
held close together with one hand, while the loose 
soil is drawn around the plant with the other hand, 
and the job finished with the hoe. The object is to 
get the leaves in an erect compact clump, ready for 
storing. On the large scale 
Celery is Stored in trenches a foot wide and as 
deep as the plants are tall. It is set in closely, and 
a little litter put over, which is increased as the 
cold increases. Small lots are best stored in a cool 
cellar in boxes nine inches wide, about as high as 
the celery, and of any convenient length. A few 
inches of earth are placed in the bottom, and the 
