22 
THE RUBAI. N1W-¥@RK1R, 
diffidence that the writer of this series o 
articles ventures to come before the public in 
the guise of a counselor for the discussion of 
a set of topics for which he feels himself so 
poorly qualified. He claims your patience, 
however, in the pursuit of what he fuels a 
work of necessity and a labor of love. 
Mr. Emerson, Mr. Marsh and others have 
written. Their excellent advice has been 
quoted and enforced again and again, and yet 
the advocates of forest-increase are ridiculed 
by many who are otherwise justly considered 
very sensible people, but who are simply un¬ 
informed on this subject. Others are so care¬ 
less as to the future, that they are unwilling 
to make any effort or to invest either labor or 
capital, except where they can see, or think 
they can see, an immediate cash return ; such 
persons seem to forget that we must sow in 
faith if we would reap with joy, and they act 
as though this beautiful world was created 
for them alone, and for them to destroy. 
To this there are notable exceptions; here 
and there we find men of broader views and of 
greater philanthropy, who are willing to spend 
a portion of their strength, and of their means 
in measures which promise immediate benefits 
to the country at large, and ultimately rich 
returns to themselves and to their successors. 
Nor are these returns always so very distant 
as many suppose. There are plantations of 
timber on the Rhine and in other parts of 
Europe, that yield a rich harvest every fifteen 
years. These are managed on the coppice 
system, and chiefly for the production of fire¬ 
wood, charcoal and tanning material, and for 
use in the arts requiring small pieces of wood. 
Other plantations are utilized in periods of 
greater length, extending to 50 or 00 years, 
when the harvest yields proportionately higher 
returns, while again there are species of still 
greater value, that require longer periods to 
bring them to perfection. 
Few people in our own country will consent to 
make investments of capital promising such 
slow returns, and yet it can readily be shown 
that on almost every farm there are tracts of 
greater or less extent, that are now yielding 
no income whatever, and upon which most 
profitable crops of timber would be produced 
if they were only planted, protected and en¬ 
couraged, while, at the same time and all the 
time, the aggregate of such patches would 
exert the most happy influence upon the water 
supply and upon the climate, and thus upon 
the crops and animals of the whole region 
where they existed. 
The total outlay requisite to produce these 
effects would be inconsiderable, and to each 
member of the community iu which such a 
method had been adopted, the expenses incur¬ 
red by planting would be as nothing. Of 
many valuable species, nurserymen are now 
willing to forward by mail, franked, of course, 
as many as 100 little trees for a dollar sent to 
them. When these have been set out and be¬ 
gin to grow their happy owner will have but 
one regret, and that is that he had not invest¬ 
ed more largely. One careful and shrewd 
New England man, on a very small farm, in 
the smallest of States, at once ordered pack¬ 
ages to the amount of $25, but he might have 
done still better by pm-chasing at wholesale, 
and have had the benefit of cheaper transpor. 
tation by the freight lines. 
For the consolation of. him who regrets 
his small investment, the suggestion is made 
that he can enlarge his order next year; but 
in tree-planting, as in every other branch of 
industry, and especially in every new branch, 
it is the wiser policy to go slow at the first; 
festina lente, is a good motto; it is better to 
creep and to w r alk before attempting to rim. 
Besides, tree planting for the production of 
valuable timber, is to all of us a new enter¬ 
prise in which we have everything to learn. 
To the large majority of our people, whether 
in town or country, the very names and nature 
of our own native trees, as well as of the vari¬ 
ous exotics, are by no means as familiar as 
household words. Their peculiar adaptatiou 
to this or that soil, exposure and elevation, is 
another consideration of great importance in 
the selection of trees to plant; but this is a 
subject upon which the average planter will be 
forced to admit his ignorance, and it is to be 
regretted that he will also be disappointed in 
the results of his attempts to seek the needed 
information from others. We are all ignorant 
alike of this kind of practical knowledge which 
is so much needed. 
These problems, and many others that will 
present themselves, must be solved by the com¬ 
bined observations of experiments to be made 
by many men in many places, and it will take 
years for us to solve some of the riddles 
already before us. No one can yet speak ex 
cathedra in this matter. We have no high 
authority to consult as a final resort, but each 
must look, think and act for himself, and, in 
our happy Republic, each one should be willing 
to do this, and then to lay before his brethren 
the results, successful or otherwise, of the ex ■ 
periments made by himself, and thus add to 
the sum of human knowledge. 
Despite our admitted ignorance of the de¬ 
tails of forestry, the intelligent American has 
a happy faculty of observation and of gath¬ 
ering information. Thus in tree-planting, 
new as it is, many who have been engaged in 
the work but a few years, have already learn¬ 
ed from their practice that the plans pursued 
in Europe will not always be the best for us 
to adopt here. They have learned that by 
thorough preparation of the soil, where this is 
practicable, the labor of planting is reduced 
to a minimum, the percentage of surviving 
plants is raised to the maximum, and that with 
easier cultivation and diminished cutting the 
success of the plantation is insured. 
After looking upon the results in nature’s 
densely set or in her scattered groves, the ob¬ 
serving American no longer follows the sug¬ 
gestions of our national law-givers (who were 
certainly no foresters); he no longer plants his 
little trees 13 and 111 feet apart, to waste their 
energies and spoil their future usefulness by 
forming spreading branches and tops, making 
mere shade trees where it is proposed to pro¬ 
duce tall shafts for valuable timbers. The 
sensible planter sets his trees more closely to¬ 
gether, so as to shade the soil as quickly as 
possible; for this purpose he sometimes plants 
from 3,000 to 4,000, or even more, to the acre, 
arid he Succeeds in producing the desideratum. 
Nor does he trouble himself in advance about 
the thinning and trimming suggestions of theo¬ 
retical dreamers. Sufficient, to the day is his 
maxim. A good stand of young trees of thrifty 
growth, that shall, as soon as possible, hide 
the ground from the sun, and cover it with the 
fallen leaves and debris that put the surface 
into the loose and spongy condition of the 
natural forest—this should be his aim ; and 
this being once attained, his success is assured, 
his labor, for a time at least, is done, ou this 
plat, and he can go to work extending his 
plantations. 
The influence of mountain forests on the 
water-supply of the continent will be the topic 
of the next paper. 
EXPERIENCE WITH RAISIN-MAKING 
IN CALIFORNIA. 
G. G. BRIGGS. 
My experience with raisin grapes in Califor¬ 
nia is as follows;— 
In 1S68 I bought a vineyard of 40 acres. 
The vines were all of the California Grape va¬ 
riety. 
In the Spiring of 18(59 I grafted them to 
Tokay and Muscat of Alexandria—sometimes 
called Muscatel Gordo Blanco. 
In 1872 I had more grapes than I could sell 
fresh in the market, and made a few raisins. 
Iu 1873 I shipped most of *he grapes East 
and got nothing for them; but had to pay 
about $1,000 freight, and lost all my labor, 
boxes and grapes. 
In 1874 I picked them all for raisins. The 
27th day of September the sun became dim 
and would hardly cast a shadow till the 25th 
of October, when it. began to rain heavily and 
continued raining until all my raisins that 
were not under cover had become completely 
rotten. When the rain commenced I had 
taken up about 20,000 pounds of raisins, and 
those which were spoiled by rain needed about 
two days of bright sunshine. I lost 100,000 
poimds of raisins in the rain. 
In 1875 I made about 100,000 pounds of 
raisins and planted 180 acres of vines. 
In 1870 I made 1X0,000 pounds of raisins and 
planted 140 acres of vines. 
In 1877 I made 300,000 pounds of raisins and 
planted 80 acres of vines. 
In 1878 I made 400,000 pounds of raisins and 
planted 20 acres of vines. 
In 1879 1 made 640,000 pounds of raisins and 
planted 15 acres of vines. 
In 1880 I made 800,000 pounds of raisins and 
planted 500 acres of vines. 
In 1881 I made 1,000,000 pounds of raisins 
and intend to plant 75 acres of vines. I shall 
then have over 1,000 acres in vines. Our 
raisins are better this season than ever before. 
Two-fifths of them were first-class, 
I expect to make 150 boxes to the acre when 
my vines become full bearers, which will be 
in about four years. A box of California 
raisins holds 20 pounds, full weight. We have 
put them up in whole, half, quarter and eighth 
boxes. J. K. Armsby <& Co., of Chicago, have 
handled them all for the past four years. 
Three years ago they sold them on commission 
and they netted me about 2% cents a pound. 
Two years ago they paid nffe $1.10 a box. One 
year ago they paid me $1.35 a box. This year 
they pay me 31.75 a box for first-class and 
$1.40 for second-class. The raisins this season 
will about pay the cost of production and the 
expense of caring for the young vines. 
My entire crop of green fruit, dried fruit, 
almonds and raisins has sold for about $100,- 
000 this season, and my expenses have just 
about balanced it. I am satisfied that raisin¬ 
making will pay in California if it is econom¬ 
ically managed. Our grapes are ready to 
begin picking about August 28. We have 
trays to put them on when we pick them. The 
tray is composed of four boards seven inches 
wide, thirty-six inches long and half an inch 
thick, cleated together by nailing with clout 
nails a strip three inches wide, twenty-eight 
inches long and half an inch thick across the 
ends of the four seven-iuch boards, mak¬ 
ing the tray 28x36 inches. We place a tray 
to a vine and pick the grapes and place them 
on it, uud then elevate the north end of the 
tray a little so as to get the full heat of the 
sun. Some vines have two trays of grapes on 
them and others even more, but the average is 
about one tray to a full-bearing vine. A tray 
holds about 25 pounds of grapes. We pick a 
first and second crop of grapes. There is a 
difference of about three weeks in the time of 
the ripening of the two crops. Grapes picked 
the 28th of August will cure in about 15 days. 
Those picked the first of October will require 
from 30 to 50 days, and some years we are 
obliged to use fire heat to dry them, or to fin¬ 
ish drying them. 
W hen the grapes are half-dried we turn 
them over by placing an empty tray on them 
and turning them over, leaving them ou the 
empty tray; then we take away the tray they 
were on, place itou another, and turn it. Two 
good men will turn from 3,000 to 4,000 trays a 
day. W hen the raisins are made we put them 
into sweat-boxes which hold about 100 pounds. 
They are28x36x7 inches. The l aisins are ready 
to pack four days after placing in the sweat- 
boxes. Our packers average about seven 
boxes a dav, four layers of five pounds in each 
box. 
Our vineyards are well situated for railroad 
accommodations. Our packing houses are 
close to switches which the railroad company 
has put iu for our convenience. We can 
load a car with raisins in 30 minutes. We sell 
ah our raisins f. o. b. (free on board). We 
prune our vines to from 10 to 20 buds, and 
they are, none, more than 10 inches from the 
ground. We find the finest bunches on or 
near the ground. 
Yolo Co., Cal. 
(L’litomoloqical. 
THREE ERRORS. 
PROFESSOR A. J. COOK. 
Even our savants in science sometimes 
make mistakes; but to find errors in the 
papers of a single week from three of the most 
distinguished, is quite unusual. Prof. Gyrus 
Thomas, the able State entomologist of Illi¬ 
nois, says in an article iu the Farmers’ Re¬ 
view, Nov. 24th, in speaking of the Army- 
worm, (Leueania unipuneta), “It never ap¬ 
peals in great numbers, and in armies, ex¬ 
cept in a leather moist season following a dry 
one.” Variations in habit, no less than in 
structure, are so common among animals, 
that the word “ never” is a dangerous one to 
use. As I have before reported, the Army- 
worm devastated portions of Michigan the 
past season, and the seasonable peculiarities 
for the past two years were just the reverse 
of that given above by Prof. Thomas. The 
Summer of 1880 was very moist, rains being 
frequent and copious, while the past Summer 
was exceptionally dry. 
A no less distinguished entomologist, Prof. 
J. A. Lintner, State Entomologist of New 
York, in speaking of the “ Cora-worm,’ 
(Ileliothis armigera), which has sprung up as 
by magic all over our Northern States the 
past Summer, says of the moth; “I need not 
describe it, for it is not likely to fall under 
the observation of your readers in this State,’’ 
This appears in the Country Gentleman of 
Nov. 24tb. Here at Lansing, Mich., these 
moths were so common this Fall that on the 
flowers during the heat of the day they were 
as numerous as the very common cabbage 
butterfly (Pieris rapse). So, uulike most of the 
Noetuid®, they fly in the hottest sunshine as 
well as by night. We caught them ou sugar 
after dark as well as on the flowers at mid¬ 
day. 
Iu the same number Prof. C. V. Riley is 
reported as saying that “ bees naturally do 
not injure grapes.” This is certainly true. 
“ But during drought, or when flowers are 
dried up and withered, they will attack sweet 
fruits, and sometimes rupture their skins.” 
This may be so, but though 1 have been try¬ 
ing to get proof of it for years, I have 
signally failed to find one authentic case 
where the bees attacked the grapes before 
some other animal, generally a bird or wasp, 
had pierced the skin and set the juice to run¬ 
ning. I do not say that bees will not iu ex¬ 
ceptional cases tear open the skin, I only say 
that if it does occur it is a rare exception. If 
the grapes are torn open, or buret, then the 
bees will gather on them, that is, if there is no 
honey to be gathered in the flowers, and will 
JAN 44 
become a serious annoyance to the grape- 
grower. Prof. Riley further says that ‘ ‘ the 
proper way to experiment is to starve the 
bees till they are very hungry, and then they 
will rupture the skin aud destroy the grapes.” 
Our bees will not, if the grapes are sound, 
but will starve entirely. 1 have tried it re¬ 
peatedly. This is uot the way that they get 
their food naturally, aud they will as surely 
die as we try the experiment. The grapes 
are left entirely uninjured. I have little 
doubt but that in this respect our bees are 
quite like those of others. If others who 
have tried the experiment, for I know of sev¬ 
eral who have tried it, find tho contrary to 
be true, let them report. If bees do learn, 
in exceptional eases, to tear the grapes open 
while yet they are on the vines, then such 
bees might do the same when starved. 
Lansing, Mich. 
farm dzconomi}. 
ASHES IN AGRICULTURE. 
Much of the early fertility of our farms 
comes from the ashes of the heavy timber 
burned by the pioneers. Ashes are a fertilizer 
of unquestioned value, giving prompt and 
lasting evidence of this fact. If wo burn a 
tree the ashes will represent what the soil has 
contributed to its growth, minus such ele¬ 
ments as have been converted into gases. 
Most constituents of the soil are fouud in the 
ashes of vegetation. Different soils cause dif¬ 
ferent qualities of ashes in some kinds of 
trees, and different parts of the tree, notably 
the bark and top furnish more ashes than oth¬ 
er ]tarts. Ashes, having once been used in 
tho growth of vegetation, may be largely used 
again to nourish renewed productions, hence 
their lasting qualities. The carbonate, sili¬ 
cate, sulphate aud muriate of potassa are not 
the only constituents of value as fertilizers. 
The carbonate of lime, silicate and phosphate 
of lime, oxide of iron and salts of magnesia 
(all the elements except those transformed by 
heat), having once been absorbed by plant 
growth, may be largely absorbed again. 
• 
ASH-BARREL — FIG. 10. 
Nurserymen appreciate the value of ashes, 
piling their brush where the ashes may be 
preserved after burning, for they have found 
them of peculiar value as a fertilizer for trees 
and plants. The farmer is indifferent, careless 
aud wasteful of this great ally, though if a 
supply chances to bo lying about in the way, 
he will, from necessity, apply it to the fields, 
often inconsiderately, and breathe lreer for 
the riddance. A large part of the most valua¬ 
ble ingredients of ashes is lost to the farmer 
through exposure to the rain, as ashes are 
often out iu boxes anil barrels six or eight 
months. The illustration is intended to rep¬ 
resent. my invention (no patent) for preserving 
ashes from waste or storms. A square frame, 
A, just large enough to admit the top of the 
barrel, is first made of fence boards. Then 
another strip of board, B, is nailed over the 
top of the frame at one side aud another like 
strip at the other side. These strips rest upon 
the edge of the barrel and prevent the frame 
from falling. C is the cover. The frame, A, 
should be six inches wide, and C should also 
be six inches. This barrel may stand out- 
of-doors till full, then it should be removed to 
the shed or barn, aud the frame and hinged 
cover, which is not fastened to the barrel, are 
used for another barrel. Thus all are kept 
perfectly dry, and the ashes will be in a bet¬ 
ter condition to bo distributed evenly to the 
soil, without such injury to the hands as will 
be caused where the ashes are moist. If the 
reader avails himself of this contrivance, and 
does not thereby receive benefit equal to the 
subscription price for this journal for five 
years, he must own a better ash-house than 
most farmers afford. It takes two men to 
lift a barrel of wet ashes, while one man can 
handle one when dry. Wet ashes ruin the 
barrel, whereas dry ashes do not. Every one 
cannot afford an ash-house, but even there 
