oiie-y«ar-old  plant  freqnontly  proves  to  be  of 
Bioro  value  than  one  of  three  or  foiu'.  Of  course 
we  do  not  say  that  vinos  three  or  four  years  old 
aro  wortliless  or  tliatthey  cannot  bo  safely  trans¬ 
planted  and  by  proper  pruning  bo  made  to  thrive 
and  remain  healthy,  but  as  a  general  rule,  young¬ 
er  plants  are  to  be  preferred.  The  small  rootlets 
through  which  the  plants  draw  their  sustenance 
wood,  and  in  some  localities  this  would  be  quite 
desirable.  One  of  the  finest  roa<l8  in  tho  County 
of  Santa  Clara  is  the  Nagloo  A  vo.,  which  is  100 
feet  wide.  Sajf  JosK  Keadeb. 
San  tJose,  Santa  Clara  (;o.,  C’al. 
SOMETHING  ABOUT  ALSIKE  CLOVER 
DOES  FARMING  PAYl 
A  WBiTEic  in  the  Maine  farmer  furnishes  some 
interesting  infonnation  relative  to  Alsike  clover, 
and  as  many  may  wish  to  make  a  trial  of  it  we 
copy  the  material  jjortiona. 
Ten  years  ago  I  sowed  five  pounds  of  Alsike 
clover  seed  on  half  an  acre  of  land.  The  seed 
came  well  and  in  the  fall  I  had  a  good  stand  of 
grass.  The  next  season  it  produced  two  loads  of 
hay  and  100  lbs.  of  seed.  Tho  second  year  the 
quality  of  liay  was  about  the  same  and  it  gave 
me  165  lbs.  of  seed.  1  used  the  straw  and  fodder 
and  found  it  nearly  as  valuable  as  my  hay,  and 
much  bottor  than  my  coarse  pea-vine  clover  hay, 
cured  fully  as  well  as  the  alsike.  I  became  so 
well  convinced  of  its  superiority  over  red  clover 
that  I  commenced  to  seed  all  my  land  with  it ; 
some  years  seeding  thirty  acres.  Since  the 
second  year  I  raised  the  alsike  I  Lave  not  sowed 
one  pound  of  red  clover,  nor  would  I  if  tho  seed 
were  fnrnished  me  free  of  cost,  and  a  promiuiu 
of  fifty  cents  a  ixmnd  given  mo  for  using  it.  T 
can  get  more  jxmnds  of  alsike  clover  bay  from 
an  acre  than  red  ;  it  is  no  harder  to  cime  and  is 
worth  one-third  more  per  ton  io  feed.  It  does 
not  lose  by  standing  a  few  days  afUir  it  is  fit  to 
cut  for  bay  as  other  grasses  do.  but  continues  to 
keep  green  and  dues  not  loso  its  leaves  and  lieads 
in  curing  like  other  clover.  It  will  not  he 
damaged  so  nxuch  by  rain  as  other  clover ;  a 
storm  that  will  spoil  red  clovei'  will  not  damage 
alsike  more  than  one-half. 
The  past  year  1  had  sixteen  acres  of  this  clover 
from  wldch  I  have  cleaned  2700  lbs.  of  sewl  and 
from  the  15th  Dec.,  to  tlm  20tb  March,  kojtt 
twenty  Khort-Horns  and  four  Locses,  wholly  on 
the  straw,  with  tlio  exception  of  one  feed  of' 
other  hay  in  the  morniug.  I  liavo  fed  a  small 
allowance  of  grain  aud  my  thoroughbreds  never 
were  in  better  condition. 
Ah  this  will  be  read  by  huudreds  in  this  State  it 
will  either  bo  doubted  or  else  the  in(|uiry  will  be 
made,  “Why  have  I  not  been  more  successful 
in  raising  alnike  ?"  I  think  1  can  toll  where  the 
great  lack  of  success  has  been.  This  clover  is  a 
a  little  tender  tho  fii'st  year,  after  which  it  will 
not  winter-kill  ono  half  as  bad  as  tho  red.  The 
seeds  are  fine,  aud  when  tho  clover  first  comes 
up  it  is  also  fine  and  tender  uutilit  begius  to 
send  out  its  mass  of  fibrous  roots.  Now  any¬ 
thing  that  prevonls  it  doing  this  before  the  first 
winter  is  an  injury.  If  the  gi-ouud  be  in  poor 
condition,  or  weedy,  or  the  grain  grows  very 
rank  and  lodges  (any  but  wheat,)  or  if  tlie  siiodbe 
covered  too  deep,  it  will  prevent  it  from  getting 
a  good  growth  of  roots  for  the  first  winter. 
Another  reason  for  want  of  success  has  been  in 
sowing  too  small  a  quantity  of  seed  to  the  acre. 
I  shall  not  seed  in  tlie  future  with  less  than  ten 
pounds  of  alsike  and  four  to  eight  .juarts  of 
timothy.  I  have  not  known  a  farmer  to  be  dis¬ 
satisfied  with  tills  clover  if  he  got  a  good  crop 
the  firat  yeai‘.  Ajiotber  gieat  lack  of  (moeess  has 
been  ui  sowing  a  poor  quality  of  seed.  There 
has  been  a  groat  deal  of  seed  sold  in  this  State 
for  Alsike  that  hod  soirel  and  white  clover  seed 
mixed  with  it.  The  seed  dealers  and  merchants 
who  have  sold  this  seed  have  not  done  it  inten¬ 
tionally  Imt  they  did  not  know  it  themselves. 
Alsike  clover  seed  is  all  of  it  green— from  a  very 
dark  to  a  very  light  green,  but  none  of  it  is  a 
bright  yellow.  If  there  be  white  clover  or  honew- 
Buckle  ’mixed  Avitli  it.  it  may  lie  known  by  its 
ciilor  being  a  bright  or  pale  yellow-  The  sorrel 
may  be  known  by  its  being  a  three  cornered 
seed ;  that  wliicli  is  ladled  being  u  glossv  brown 
and  a  Uttle  smaller  than  that  which  is  not  hulled. 
TTiis  has  the  same  shape  but  a  rougher,  duller 
look.  The  best  and  a  sime  way  to  be  successful 
in  raising  this  clover,  is  to  sow  the  seed  as  early 
iu  the  sjiring  as  possible  without  any  grain 
which  will  give  a  good  crop  of  clover  well  headed 
iu  August,  and  insure  its  safety  iu  the  future.  I 
have  confidence  enough  in  tliis  clover  to  l>elieve 
it  win  not  be  many  years  before  it  will  be  more 
largely  oullivated  ttau  any  other  variety. 
Some  people  have  no  shame.  In  reading  the 
newspapers  of  tho  past  week  may  be  seen  com¬ 
plaints  that  farming  don't  pay  because  of  comiie- 
tition  with  the  West,  and  others  say  all  cultivated 
land  should  ho  free  froiii  taxus.  A  Mr.  Da^us  in 
Maryland  iutiuiatos  that  the  com  laws  of  England 
make  that  country  the  ricliest  in  the  world,  aud 
in  consequence  sojne  protection  is  necessary  to 
the  woru-out  land  of  the  F.ast. 
Now,  there  cannot  Ijo  any  right  feeling  in  such 
l>eoplo.  Whose  fault  is  it  that  the  soil  of  the 
East  is  so  shamefully  imiJovcrishcd  ?  and  then 
what  ignorance  to  say  English  protective  corn 
laws  give  her  agricultural  prosperity,  when  it  is 
tho  standing  reproof  to  all  protection  that  the 
corn  laws  were  repealtd  thirty  years  ago,  since 
which  free  trade  lias  oatised  an  extraordinary  in¬ 
crease  iu  yields  of  grain  per  acre,  inasmuch  as 
farmers  have  all  donhicHl  their  prerious  stock  of 
sheep  and  thej-ehy  enriched  theii-  soil,  so  that 
produce  of  every  kind  has  nearly  doubled,  and 
instcjid  of  farmers  being  ruined,  tliey  pay  more 
rent  than  forinerly. 
There  is  nothing  iu  tho  world  wliicb  should 
cause  a  man  to  feel  so  ashamed  as  to  live  (dose 
to  ever  open  and  good  markets  and  tlien  grum¬ 
ble  at  competition  from  those  who  have  heavy 
freights  to  pay  before  they  can  disjtese  of  thoLi- 
produce  at  the  same  price  ;  but  tho  J^astern  far¬ 
mers  cannot  be  content,  and  ought  to  have  some 
sense  of  shame  when  tliey  cannnot  coinjietc  with 
others  who  have  no  advantages  over  them,  hut 
numerous  disadvantages,  for  they  have  protec¬ 
tive  duties  from  heavily  taxed  Europe,  and  with 
that  cannot  grow  wool  enough  for  homo  cun- 
smnption.  New  England  cannot  grow  grain  to 
support  bcrself,  and  (;anada  can  jiay  import  du¬ 
ties  and  freight  and  then  send  horses -to  Now 
York  ? 
Is  it  tiot  a  shame  for  farmers  to  have  run  the 
land  down  till  iiiucli  of  it  cannot  gi-ow  wheat  to 
pay  for  seed  and  barvostiug  ?  Can  it  bo  aught 
but  a  shame  tor  all  the  beautiful  virgin  soil  to 
bo  despoiled  aud  brought  down  to  the  lowest 
state  of  sterility,  so  that,  as  it  is  iu  Connecti¬ 
cut,  farms  can  bo  Liought  for  less  than  tho  build¬ 
ings  cost  to  erect  them  ? 
It  is  u  shame  that  land  should  bo  so  reduced  as 
not  to  pay  for  ciiltivatiou.  Hut  as  such  is  the 
fact  over  immense  tracts  of  the  Easleni  Btatos, 
both  north  aud  south,  it  is  again  a  great  sliame 
that  it  should  not  be  nsud  for  sheep  raising,  as 
every  Amoiicau  ngricnlturist  should  feel  ashamed 
to  know  there  is  not  wool  enough  grown  to  clothe 
tlie  nation,  not  so  much  as  1  lb.  in  100  lbs.,  in 
comparison  with  IJie  extent  of  England,  and 
then  liow  very  imieli  asliamed  fai’mers  ought  to 
be  of  those  who  whliie  and  ciy  out  about  dogs, 
just  as  if  tliere  were  no  dogs  in  England,  Prance 
aud  Au.stralia,  and  shame  should  mantle  the 
cheeks  of  every  one  to  know  there  ai’o  poojile  so 
ignorant  as  to  t  alk  about  English  sheep  being 
kept  iu  small  numbers,  when  there  are  one 
hundred  for  one  here.  a.  w.  f. 
PRESSING  STABLE  MANURE, 
the  use  of  jiowcrful  niacliinerv,  made  for  the 
express  purpose.  Tlie  bales,  wliicb  weigh  about 
450  lbs.,  are  c.onfined  by  suitable  staves  and 
bands,  and  may  then  l>o  trausportcsl  hi  all  parts 
of  tlie  country  at  a  cost  muc-h  below  that  re- 
qiiirod  for  impressed  manure.  City  stable  ma¬ 
nure  has  la-en  sold  tJio  past  winter  at  prices  con- 
siciorably  below  tJiat  of  fonner  years. — A'^  E. 
Farmer.*, 
Undoubtedly  the  use  of  chemical  manure  has 
limited  the  doiiinnds  for  stable  manure.  Most  of 
the  latter  have  many  weed  seeds,  wliich  concen¬ 
trated  fertilizers  arc  free  from.  Besides,  stable 
manure,  even  wlicn  on  the  ground,  cannot  be 
evenly  distributed  In  small  amounts  over  a  large 
surface,  while  guano  and  tho  suiicrphosphatos 
can  bo  applied  ebeaply  and  thoronglily  in  chills 
with  the  seed. 
GOOD  ROOFING 
“  Thebe  is  nothing  so  bad  in  the  pocket  as  a 
hole,”  and  the  same  remark  applies  to  a  roof. 
Here  cmjiuthically  the  best  is  the  cheapest.  A 
roof  tliut  leaks  is  costly  properly.  'Jlio  damage 
done  to  crops  in  barn  is  far  greater  than  at  any 
early  period,  because  it  rejirciHcnts  the  cost,  not 
only  of  growing,  but  barvoHting  and  generally 
tlu'osliing.  In  sbedK,  leaky  roofs  expose  stock 
to  unusual  cold,  and  as  for  houses,  no  man  wlio 
cares  for  tho  fives  and  health  of  himself  and 
family  will  live  under  a  leaky  roof.  The  New 
York  Blato  JlooHiig  Co.  (limited),  No.  8  Cedar 
St.,  N.  y.,  furnish  a  100-pago  book,  free  to  all 
applicants,  which  gives  much  valuable  informa¬ 
tion  on  roofing,  bouse  paints  and  like  subjects. 
INDUSTRIAL  NOTES 
.Tn(c  Grit. — There  is  a  lady  in  Pulton  County, 
livuig  near  the  city  of  Atlanta,  wlio  is  running  a 
farm  herself,  her  husband  Jiaving  been  an 
invalid  for  a  long  time,  and  cimsequeutly,  un- 
alile  to  assit  her.  She  has  made  this  year,  with 
one  horse,  450  bushels  of  corn,  '1  bales  of  cotton. 
300  bushels  of  turnips,  90  gallons  of  S3’nip  and  a 
large  crop  of  sweet  and  Irish  jujlatoea.  She  lias 
a  fine  garden,  from  which  she  seOs  vog»  tablen  to 
the  citizens  of  Atlanta.  She  sells  butter  aud 
milk,  makes  her  own  fertilizers  at  home  and  buys 
everything  for  cash.  She  says  that  any  man 
who  lives  on  a  farm,  and  who  buys  bacon  and 
corn  to  feed  lus  family  ought  to  he  chopped  up 
and  fed  to  pigs.—  Georgia  (h'Ungv. 
T/ic/anners  of  Lancaster  County,  Pa.,  think 
their  mamme  heaps  so  many  saving  fmids,  and 
strive  accordingly  U>  increase  them  in  quantity 
and  size.  This  is  why  farmers  there  stoble  their 
stock  aud  ulifizo  their  straw.  By  stall-feeding 
cattle  they  can  feed  a  larger  number  of  cattle  on 
the  same  amouut  of  com  and  liny,  aud,  conse¬ 
quently,  make  more  and  betbsr  manure  than  by 
feeding  outdoors.  Hogs  arc  also  stabled  and 
well  littered  with  straw  ;  they  also  make  a  large 
amount  of  manure  of  a  good  quality. 
from  the  soil  are  principally  at  tlie  extreme  ends 
of  the  main  roots,  and  when  large  plants  are  dug 
U|i  tliuso  are  very  likely  to  be  loft  in  the  gniiind, 
aud  the  removed  vine  must  produce  n  new  sot 
before  it  can  make  any  considerable  growth. 
PRUNING  AT  TIME  OF  TRANSPLANTING. 
No  matter  bow  large  and  vigorous  a  vine  may 
be  at  the  time  of  transplanting,  the  canes  should 
be  shortened  or  cut  back  severely  -say  to  one  or 
two  feet  of  tlie  ground.  Witli  young  vines  of 
one  or  two  years’  growtli,  cut  off  all  but  one  cane 
aud  shorten  this  within  one  foot  or  less  of  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  Prom  this  sliortoncd 
stump  one  or  two  shoots  may  he  permitted  to 
gi’ow  the  first  season,  but  never  more  tJian  tho 
latter  number,  and  as  a  general  mle,  one  is 
enough.  This  cane  should  bo  kept  tied  up  to  a 
stake  during  tho  growing  season,  all  sprouts 
starting  from  the  base  or  on  the  old  cano  broken 
off— in  fact,  keep  iu  view  tho  one  object  of  pro¬ 
ducing  as  large  and  vigorous  slioois  as  possible. 
TTie  accompanying  figui'o  of  a  vine  at  tho  end 
of  the  first  season  after  trausplauting,  taken 
from  “  The  Grape  Culturist,”  may  be  considoroJ 
a  model  of  its  Icind.  The  laterals  which  have 
sprang  from  the  axils  of  tho  leaves — at  a,  b,  and 
c — have  been  checked  <.)Uco  or  twice  by  bai’ing 
thcii'  en<is  pinched  off  with  fingers  and  thumb. 
Now  a  vine  grown  in  this  form  will  have  large 
and  healthy  loaves,  oven  where  one  of  the  same 
sort  would  produce  small,  weakly  ones  if  per¬ 
mitted  to  trail  over  the  ground  witliout  caro  or 
attention.  Bare  uirmbiy  of  leaves  or  young 
shoots  are  no  Lndicatioiis  of  strength  and  vigor, 
and  if  the  viueyardist  desires  to  make  baste  iu 
producing  fruit  he  must  adopt  some  such  system 
as  tliis  fur  coucentratiug  the  natural  forces. 
A  vino  one  year  old  trauied  in  the  form  shown, 
is  ready  for  pnining  down  to  a  starting  ixiint  of 
some  future  system  of  training  either  upon  trel¬ 
lises  or  stakes.  It  is  difficult  to  make  healthy 
vines  out  of  sickly  ones,  aud  manj'  a  failure  in 
grape  culture  dates  from  neglect  iu  the  fii'st  sea¬ 
son  after  planting.  One  must  begin  with  good 
cai-e  if  he  ex^iects  tho  best  results. 
WIDE  vs.  NARROW  ROADWAYS 
In  a  January  nimiber  of  the  Rubai.  New- 
Yokker,  iu  tlio  last  few  lines  luider  the  subject 
of  “Village  aud  Bubmban  Ro.adways,”  appears 
the  following; — “There  is  much  more  to  he 
said,  and  aftm’  others  have  said  something  I  will 
again  wite  u  word."  We  think  there  is  room 
for  improvement,  and  that  cousiderablo  labor 
and  moiiej’  is  expended  in  constructing  roads. 
We  will  agree  witli  tiic  wTiter  on  Uic  first  point, 
but  bow  could  wc  on  tlie  second  ?  How  can  the 
amount  of  travel  he  detonniued  ?  If  one  lives 
near  a  city,  and  if  there  ai’e  natural  advantages 
amounting  to  anything,  will  it  not  soon  bo  found 
iiecessarj'  to  widen  iian'o'fv  roads,  and  will  tliere 
not  be  a  greater  loss?  For  example Land 
two  miles  out  may  be  worth  4^200  an  acre.  Now, 
in  ten  years,  supjiose  the  road  is  widened  when 
the  laud  is  a-urth  $2,1100  per  acre,  would  it  nut  be 
cheaper  to  liave  wide  roads  (80  and  lOO  feet — 
none  less  than  60)  at  the  Ikst?  How  would  one 
manage  suppose  he  should  desii'o  to  tium  around 
with  a  wagon  and  four  horses?  According  to 
the  illustoation,  Ac.,giveji  in  the  PiUBAL  of  the 
gentleman’s  idea,  one  would  liave  to  Havel  per¬ 
haps  half  a  mile  to  turn  ai  ouud.  Does  not  proii- 
erty  sell  more  readily  on  a  wide  than  on  a  naiTpw 
street  ?  Ai-e  not  wide  streets  more  convenient  ? 
We  think  a  road  should  be  not  less  than  60  feet 
wide,  w'ell  thrown  up  in  the  center,  so  that  w’atcr 
will  run  off  readily — ^in  fact,  about  the  same  as 
the  road  described,  only  have  it  wide.  The  side¬ 
walks  should  be  so  cousUaicted  that  all  water 
would  run  off  into  the  ditch  between  it  aud  the 
road.  The  trails  should  be  planted  on  the  outer 
edge  of  the  sidewalk  and  about  ten  or  fifteen 
feet  apai't  (not  more  than  fifteen),  although  it 
depends  on  what  kind  of  trees  are  used ;  then,  if 
they  are  found  to  be  too  thick,  every  other  one 
may  be  cut  out,  which  will  furmeh  oousiderable 
PLANTING  GRAPE  VINES 
Doubtless  some  of  oiu'  readers  will  plant  out 
grapo  vinos  this  Biiring  for  the  first  time,  and 
various  questions  will  arise  as  to  how  it  should 
be  done.  Of  coiu’se,  it  is  not  to  bo  supjxiscd  that 
everybody  knows  how  to  plant  a  vine  or  ti'oe  any 
more  than  to  build  a  shiii  or  a  steam  engine. 
Tliere  is  not  much  science  or  skill  roquii’tid  in 
doing  it;  still,  tiici'c  is  a  little,  aud  that  little  is 
ijuito  important  if  the  operation  is  to  end  suc¬ 
cessfully. 
AGE  OF  VINES  TO  PLANT. 
New  beginners  in  vine  or  tree  oiiltiu'e  ai’e  usual¬ 
ly  impatient,  and  w  ant  to  obtain  fruit  as  soon  as 
possible;  hence,  large  vines  and  trees  for  “im¬ 
mediate  bearing,"  are  especially  attractive,  and 
purchasers  often  pay  largo  prices  for  loi-ge  speci¬ 
mens  and  then  have  to  wait  longer  for  the  coveted 
fruit  than  if  they  had  commouced  with  smaller 
plants  costing  a  far  less  price.  Large  plants  we 
generally  iiijui'cd  more  in  transplanting  than 
small  ones,  starting  slowly  and  progressing  less 
rapidly ;  therefore,  what  is  gained  at  the  outset 
in  ohtaiuiug  large  siiecimons  is  frequenUy  lost  iu 
the  years  following  by  feeble  gi-owth. 
But  of  all  the  poor  things  a  man  ever  purchased 
in  tho  w  ay  of  plants,  an  old  or  large  grape  vine  is 
about  the  most  worthless  and  tlie  least  satisfac¬ 
tory.  A  good  strong  two-year-old  vine  is  about 
as  far  as  a  man  need  look  iu  the  direction  of  age 
for  seom’ing  the  best  results,  aud  even  a  healthy 
SOW  WHEAT  THIS  SPRING, 
The  Maine  Fanner, says: — On  no  account 
should  farmers  who  have  land  suitable  for  it  fail 
to  sow  wheat  this  spring.  We  say  on  laud  that 
is  suitable,  for  it  is  well  knowTi  that  wheat  re¬ 
quires  a  strong,  dry  soil,  of  fine  tilth,  and  suffi¬ 
ciently  well  fertilized  to  give  a  strong  gi'owth  of 
stoaw  and  to  insure  good  fiUiug  out  of  the  heads, 
but  not  ovei'  rich.  Tho  failure  of  the  crop  in 
some  instances  the  past  year  should  Intiuence  no 
one  against  so'wing  a  fair  breadth  of  this  princely 
grain,  this  king  of  the  cereals,  the  present 
spring.  The  trouble  heretofore  has  lieen  that 
our  farmers,  (iiscouraged  by  some  unfavorable 
years  with  this  grain,  failed  to  sow  it,  and  very 
soon  drifted  away  from  wheat  as  One  of  the  chief 
crops  of  the  fsxm.  This  shoulii  not  govern  any 
farmer  of  Maine  in  his  plans  for  tne  present 
season's  operations;  and  whatever  may  have 
been  your  results  with  wheat  last  year,  go  on 
sowing  it  this  year  the  same  as  ever,  aud  depend 
upon  it  for  the  bread  of  your  family.  We  have 
faith  to  believe  the  soil,  the  climate,  all  tho 
needed  conditions  of  successfully  raising  wheat 
are  ixissessed  by  every  fanner  in  Maine,  aud  we 
feel  safe  in  advising  every  faimor  to  sow  wheat 
this  spring.  Sow  early ;  sow  late ;  sow  in  ^e 
middle — and  we  believe*  the  result  not  bring 
disappointment. 
Laveeing  Vines. — Persons  who  ai-e  not  suc¬ 
cessful  in  propagating  vines  by  cuttings,  should 
try  their  hand  at  making  layers.  Any  shoot  of 
one  year’s  growth  which  can  bo  bent  down  and 
covered  with  earth  can  he  used  for  this  purpose. 
Strong  and  vigorous  plants  can  be  produced  'the 
first  season  by  layering,  which  is  not  always  true 
of  cuttings. 
Amebican  Gbafes  in  Eubope.— Prof.  Riley 
says  that  the  grape  cuttings  sent  from  this 
country  last  year  to  Europe  to  thwart  the  phyl¬ 
loxera  amounted  to  14,000,000  cuttings. 
