1863.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
49 
marks, etc., and considers the new comers as 
intruders, which she too frequently punishes 
with death. To avoid this, confine the first hen 
that hatches, in a coop with her chickens, until 
another brood is hatched ; then substitute the 
second hen for the first, relieving the charge of 
the former. When a third hen hatches, put her 
in the place of the second, with all three broods; 
if the aggregate number does not exceed thirty, 
a full sized hen will take good care of the whole. 
The Measure Worm. 
The habits of this pest, which, besides annoy¬ 
ing those who travel the streets of our cities, 
threatens to destroy many of our ornamental 
trees, have been specially studied by Messrs. H. 
A. Graef, and Ed. Wiete. They have published, 
with the sanction of a Committee of the Brook¬ 
lyn Hort. Society, a pamphlet containing a his¬ 
tory of the insect, and a plan for its destruction. 
Among the trees usually planted in streets, the 
following are most frequented by the worm— 
they are named in the order of their liability to 
attack : European Linden, Silver Leaved Maple , 
Sugar Maple, English Elm, Horse Chestnut, Weep¬ 
ing Will mo, Silver Leaved Poplar, English Ash, 
and Honey Locust. The trees found to be free 
from young insects, and only visited by the old 
ones when other food becomes scarce, are: 
Ailanthus, Catalpa, Cypress, European Larch, 
Tulip Tree, Paper Mulberry, Paulownia, Button- 
wood, and Locust. The authors propose to 
save the trees of the infested district in Brook¬ 
lyn, by a systematic onslaught upon the insect 
in its various stages, beginning with the eggs, 
which are deposited on the trunks and branch¬ 
es, and continuing it upon the worm in its va¬ 
rious stages of growth. They propose to arrest 
the worm in its progress from the egg to the 
twigs by means of tar rings, to syringe with to¬ 
bacco water to destroy the young ones, and to 
knock off the old ones by jarring the limbs by 
means of apparatus for the purpose. Wrens 
are to be encouraged to build their nests in the 
trees and lend their aid to the work of extermi¬ 
nation. There is no doubt that killing the worm 
will be sure to save the trees, but whether their 
plan can be systematically put in operation over 
large districts will depend upon the public spirit 
of the inhabitants and their love for shade trees. 
To Get Leaders for Evergreens. 
It frequently happens that evergreens, of the 
rare and expensive kinds, are propagated from 
cuttings or layers from the side-branches of the 
parent tree. The young plants so raised, are 
quite slow to form central leading shoots. We 
have seen such young trees spreading and 
sprawling about upon the ground for several 
years, as if they did not know how to rise, hav¬ 
ing no central spire arouncf which the other 
branches clustered, and not worthy the name of 
tree. This perverse habit can be broken up, and 
the straggling bush can be forced to throw up a 
leader. To do this, after the plant has made a 
vigorous root-growth, peg down all the branch¬ 
es to the ground, as illustrated above. This 
will so check the flow of sap through them, that 
a new and vigorous shoot will start up from 
the base, which will grow erect, and form the 
nucleus for a new and better tree. After this 
central shoot has become well established, cut 
off the old stragglers. Keep the soil well en¬ 
riched and well tilled for several years. 
Farming for Old Age. 
Every one with his eyes open has seen many 
men, farmers and others, make great mistakes 
in “ retiring ” early from business. After one 
has spent the best of his days in active employ¬ 
ment, it is quite unnatural for him to suspend 
all work, fold his hands, and sit down idle. The 
fancied pleasure flies from him; he was never 
so miserable before. How much better is it to 
retire slowly, to give up labor and care by de¬ 
grees, and never to give them up entirely. Ac¬ 
tivity, bodily and mental, is necessary to keep 
one’s faculties bright and in a healthy condition. 
To the farmer especially, we would say, pre¬ 
pare for old age by degrees. If your farm is 
large, lay off a portion of it for fruit culture. 
Plant an orchard of the choicest varieties of ap¬ 
ples, pears, plums, cherries, and peaches. If a 
good proportion of the apples are Fall and Win¬ 
ter sorts, they will always be marketable, and 
will yield a handsome income with only little 
labor. Plant also a vineyard. The care of it 
will furnish pleasant occupation for an old gen¬ 
tleman, and the grapes and wine yield considera¬ 
ble income. This point deserves more consid¬ 
eration than it commonly receives. The profits 
of a farm are never too large, even after the hard 
labor of one’s prime applied to it. But one can 
not expect to plow and hoe, and hoe and plow 
forever. Why, then, should we not put our 
farms into such a condition that when our limbs 
become stiffened by age, our lands will yield us 
nearly the same income with less work ? That 
a large and well selected fruit orchard will do 
this, no intelligent person will deny. A fruit- 
tree when young costs but a trifle, it occupies 
but little space, does not exclude hoed crops or 
grass, and when grown to maturity, yields an 
annual income of from $15 to $40. And besides 
the orchard and vineyard, let the old man have 
his garden. In this way, he will have enough 
to do, and yet not be oppressed with care and 
labor. Committing the larger part of the farm 
to his grown-up sons, he can give them the bene¬ 
fit of his experience, while both parties will re¬ 
joice in their prosperity and their independence. 
Straw Mats—How to Make Them. 
Now is the time to make a stock of straw 
mats, an article useful in every garden. They 
serve to cover half hardy shrubs during the 
Winter, are handy to throw over tender plants 
to shield them from frosts, and where there are 
hot-beds, they are almost indispensable, to pro¬ 
tect them during the cold nights of Spring. 
They may be made of any size, but it will be 
found most convenient to have them of a size to 
cover a single sash. Make a rough frame one 
foot larger each way than the required mat; 
lengthwise of this, stretch pieces of large, strong 
twine, to serve as the warp, which may be tied 
to the frame itself or fastened to pegs placed in 
it for the purpose. The pieces of twine should 
be 8 or 10 inches apart, and the distance be¬ 
tween the two outer ones about 6 inches less 
than the width of the mat. A piece of smaller 
twine 3 or 4 feet long is to be tied firmly to 
each thread of warp, close to. one end of the 
frame; these are to serve as lacers or binders to 
hold the straw in place. The frame being laid 
flat at a eonvenientliightupon horses or in some 
other way, the workman stands inside of it 
facing the end where the binders are attached, 
he takes a small handful of straw and lays it 
with the butt ends projecting about 3 inches 
beyond one of the outer pieces of warp, and se¬ 
cures it by passing the second binder over it and 
tying this by means of a half hitch to the warp. 
Another handful is similarly placed on the op¬ 
posite side, the small or grain ends of the straw 
will then overlap one another in the middle of 
the mat; all the binders may then be fastened. 
J 
fflil.ilE 
( 1 
... } \ 
iff v 
/ J " 
Hi’ V 
( .11 
1 III I 
Iffl 
hill llL 
J /ii 
/ 1 
tir pt f 
,11 ' ; lilt 
"VS 
tiffir 
Layer after layer of straw is put on in this way, 
the operator working backwards, until the mat 
is of the desired length. The binders may be 
lengthened as required, by knotting other strings 
to them. Care is required to maintain a uni¬ 
form thickness by putting on the straw in equal 
quantities, and compressing each layer to the 
same degree by the binders. When finished, 
the mat is to be cut from the frame, and the ends 
securely fastened. The sides are trimmed with 
a sharp knife, using a straight edged board as 
a ruler. Mats of this kind, if properly cared for, 
will last several years. They should, of course, 
be thoroughly dried before storing away. The 
engraving given above shows how the success¬ 
ive portions of straw are bound to the warp. 
Public Parks. 
As some of our readers doubtless have occa¬ 
sion, in their several localities, to superintend the 
planting and arrangement of public grounds, 
we venture to suggest a few ideas on.the subject. 
Large public grounds should be provided with 
roads for carriage-drives and for horseback rid¬ 
ing. These should be wide enough to admit of 
turning round and turning out easily, and they 
should be hard and smooth. There should be 
one main drive, laid out near the boundaries, 
though not running continuously on the same 
line, nor in sight of the fences. From this main 
drive, cross-roads may occasionally diverge, to 
allow of shorter and more varied rides to such 
as may wish them. But these subordinate roads 
should be narrower, and they should be made 
as inconspicuous as possible. Walks may also 
be laid out by the side of the main road, for the 
use of pedestrians. A more desirable place for 
walks, however, will be found in the interior 
portions of the ground, away from the dust and 
exposure of the traveled road. These should be 
arranged so as to command as great a variety of 
scenery as possible; now ascending eminences 
