MARCH 6 
447 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
together as possible. Do not. mix up vour an¬ 
nual crops, a.s oniotis. beets, and peas, with 
perennial ones, as rhubarb and asparagus. 
But keep the annual ones by themselves, the 
perennial ones in another plot, the bushes and 
vines in another place, nud so ou, and you can 
simplify your method of cultivation and rota¬ 
tion. Of parsley you can 
make a border along the 
edge of some of your plots, 
and you can do the same 
with thyme and sage. Let¬ 
tuces and radishes you can 
grow as catch-crops, that is, 
crops planted among other 
crops, as cabbages, betweeu 
the rows of celery, and the 
like, as thev soon come to 
maturity and maybe cleared 
off of the gronud before the 
main crop will need the 
room they occupy. Unless 
for experiment, do not grow 
a large assortment of the 
various vegetables, but stick 
to those kinds you are abso¬ 
lutely certain of. 
ter; now that the frost, is leaving the ground. 
I shall dig them tip and store them. They are 
better flavored than those lifted in the Fall 
and wintered over in the pit or cellar. 
We have lettuce, cabbage and cauliflower 
plants from last September's sowings in cold 
Have an eye to the rota¬ 
tion of your crops, and espe¬ 
cially where you are to grow 
your celery, turnips, sp naeh 
and other Fall crops. No 
doubt you will have room 
enough when your early cab¬ 
bages, spinach, peas, pota¬ 
toes, and the like are cleared, 
but try and have them all 
near each other; it will be 
so much handier in attend¬ 
ing to them. 
It will assist you greatly 
in the satisfactory cropping 
of your garden, if you make 
out a list of all the vegeta¬ 
bles you iDtend to grow; 
then prepare a rough plan 
of your garden patch, and 
one evening sit down and determine where 
each sort is to be grown and how your whole 
patch is to be occupied in Spring. Summer and 
Fall, Then wheu the busy time comes, you can 
go ahead, without wasting a moment for con¬ 
sidering what or where to plant. 
If you have auy celery left, look it over; 
if it is beginning to spoil-either the outside 
or inside leaves—lift it. clean it of ail decay¬ 
ing leaves, and repack it in earth or sand in a 
cool shed, cellar, pit or anywhere else where 
it will not be subjected to much moisture or 
the inciting influence of sunshine. I have 
just removed the mulching from my celery 
trenches (I packed four rows in each trench 
aud covered it with a four or five-inch layer 
RUSSIAN MULBERRY LEAF. Fig. 82. 
frames. These require full ventilatiou, aud 
all d« mping leaves removed from among them. 
I ut ou the sashes to ward off snow and heavy 
rains, but lift them up at the same time. If 
you want some early lettuces transplant into 
a gentle hot-bed. Sow a few more cabbages, 
cauliflowers aud lettuces in hot-beds. Be sure 
the surface of the beds is near the glass, and 
thin out or prick off the seedlings soon after 
they come up, to make them stocky. Sep 
tember-sowu lettuces usually give us our best 
early crops: butiu the case of early cabbages, 
plants from February sowings m hot beds 
often afford the best results. 
If your Fall sown spinach has been lightly 
covered over with tree leaves, straw, thatch 
or other protecting material, 
remove the covering a little at 
n time, shake up a little what 
is left, as the snows will have 
packed it down firmly on the 
plants, and thus let the dryiug 
influence of fresh air aud sun¬ 
shine mellow the soil and en¬ 
courage the growth of the 
spinach. w. falconer. 
“ O ROUND-CHERRIES," 
I wonder how many of the 
readers of the Rusal raise the 
ground cherry, or straw berry- 
tomato, as it is sometimes call¬ 
ed. 1 have raised it severul 
years aud think very much of 
it It is a distinct species of 
tomato, it grows in a husk, 
and has a strawberry flavor. 
It is especially valuable where 
other fruit is scarce, or likely 
to fail; for it succeeds well al¬ 
most anywhere aud yields 
enormously, a single plaut often 
producing from three to six 
quarts of fruit. The berries 
are about the size of cherries, 
aud of a bright yellow color. 
The plants are cultivated the 
same as ordinary tomatoes. 
The fruit will keep for mouths, 
if left in the husk—indeed till 
mid-winter if desired. They 
are nice for pies and many 
of ^thatch, .nd the ceterv has kept „e,„ , best capped f JESS.** 
RUSSIAN MULBERRY LEAF. Fig. 88. 
and luid shutters over them to shed the rain. 
Other root crops, as onions, carrots, pars- 
Qips, potatoes, oyster-plants aud the like, 
ueed attending to, too. Pick out all decaying 
roots, aud remove sprouts. I left a lot of 
parsnips and oyster-plant outside over Win 
Clinton Hollow, N, Y. a. t. c. 
[We have raised this tomato (Alkekengi) for 
many years and can indorse the above. All 
seedsmen offer the seeds.— Eds. ] 
celery. 
The new celery, White Plume, seems as if 
it might supply a want in the culture of this 
vegetable, that is felt by amateurs; for it is 
not often that celery is at its best for the 
table before the end of the year, especially 
when grown as a late crop, and the work of 
earthing up is quite an item in strength and 
expenditure. I have grown in one season 
2.000 plants in my garden, and cm realize the 
true value of the new variety, if it blanched 
without, the constant handling and earthing 
that was necessary. The seed is a little ex¬ 
pensive, aud I wish that Peter Henderson had 
made smaller packages at half the price, for 
iu that way many tv ho do not use a large 
quantity could purchase, and it might, be dis 
tnbuted over a wide section of country to be 
reported ou next Winter. annte l. jack. 
HARDY RASPBERRIES. 
We think the Turner Raspberry is perfectly 
safe for this climate. Ours had no protection 
last Winter, yet they bore an abundance of 
fruit, even to the tips of the bushes The 
Cutbbert and Mammoth Cluster that laid 
under the snow, wintered all right, but 
those that were exposed to the winds were 
dead. M. E. c. 
New London, Minn. 
^Irborint Itura L 
THE RUSSIAN MULBERRY. 
The Russian Mulberry tree is a native of 
the Caucasian Mountains, whence it was in¬ 
troduced into Southern Russia by the Men- 
nonite colonists. So far as we know, this 
mulberry was iirst introduced iuto this coun¬ 
try by a colony of Mennonites from Russia, 
who settled iu Reno Couuty, Kansas, in 1875. 
This tree Is in reality ouly a variety of Morus 
alba, or White Mulberry, but it has proved 
hardier than any other variety we know of. 
U hile. however, this is the case, the fruit has 
proved to be much inferior to that of Downing’s 
Ever-bearing Mulberry W hile. tnerefore, we 
have in the Russian Mulberry a variety that 
will grow and stand a climate far north of this, 
on the other hand, we have inferior fruit. 
Four years ago we procured a number of 
specimens of this Russian Mulberry. They 
were killed back a foot or so the first Winter, 
but have siuee stood without harm. Figs. 
82, 88 and 84. illustrate various forms which 
the leaves of this tree assume, like the sasafras, 
varying much in sha.>e. The engravings are 
from naiure. aud are designed to sho-v that 
the leaves of this tree all resolve themselves 
into several typical forms. Forsilk-worms this 
variety of mulberry is as goed as any other. 
(Tl)c 
FEED AND CARE OF SWINE. 
COL. F. D. CURTIS. 
Wheat is the most complete grain food of all 
varieties, and rauks next to milk as 
a perfect food. To attain this com¬ 
pleteness in nutriment, it should be 
ground with the brau aud all. In 
this form it will make superior food 
for swine of auy age. It should not 
be ground as fine us for flouting, but 
at the same time it is important that 
it should be fine enough so that it 
will be readily absorbed or assimi¬ 
lated in the stomach. If this is not 
the case, much of it would be voided 
in au undigested state. No condi¬ 
tion of soaking or even boiling the 
whole grain, will insure a complete 
digestion, aud the loss wheu put in 
either of these forms will vary from 
one-fourth to one-half Close obser¬ 
vation has convinced me of this, aud 
the cost of one-tenth for grinding 
Is therefore a very small per cent 
compared with the actual waste 
when not ground. 
Soured to the first degree (made 
simply sour) is the best form m 
which to give food to hogs. Why it 
is so may uot be fully understood; 
but it is to he assumed that, in thi 
condition there is less fermentation 
iu the stomach, which gives it 
better tone, and the partial ferment¬ 
ation beforehand also aids in the di 
gestiou. One thing is certain, that 
hogs when fed unformatted food art* 
more troubled with flatulency; and 
anybody kuows that this condition 
of the stomach is not conducive to 
a good appetite or a good digestion. 
The most successful feeders get the 
food for hogs as near the first degree 
of fermentation as they can, and the 
men who fail are those who do not regard 
these things, or, at all events, who do not 
practice them. By leaving a portion of 
the old or fermented food in the vessel each 
time,a new quantity is added, fermentation 
will take place much sooner, as the old part 
starts the work at once, and the whole mass is 
soon affected thereby. Twelve hours are 
usually long enough, hut in hot weather six 
may be sufficient, aud in very cool conditions 
it may require twenty-four hours to reach the 
same condition. At first it may be necessary 
to taste the food to know 7 how it is; but after 
n little experience, by close observation the 
degree of fermentation will be apparent. 
When food is fermented beyond the first de¬ 
gree, It is injurious, and care should be taken 
t hat it is not either acetic or alcoholic. 
The best way to handle young pigs is to let 
them run with their mothers until the moth¬ 
ers dry up. and to allow the young ones to go 
into an inclosnre bv themselves where they 
can be fed extra on milk, or wheat ground 
aud mixed with milk, or oatmeal. Any of 
these grains are good, and so barley ground 
and mixed with milk, or fermented slightly. 
By feeding and suckling at the same time there 
is no sudden change, and the pigs will hardly 
miss the mother, and, in fact, they may be 
weaned when six or eight weeks old by being 
fed in the manner described, and they will be 
content in tbeir feeding-pen when kept en¬ 
tirely away from the mother. Wheat, oat, 
or barley meal may be cooked for the young 
pigs, but it is not necessary to do so; but it is 
essential to have it fermented. The feedings 
should be often and a little at a time, and 
this should all be eateu up clean, or less should 
be given. 
To feed young pigs six times a day is better 
than to do so less often By "a little" is 
meant enough to All the stomach moderately 
full, but in no case to the extent of stuffing 
or gorging. This latter manner of feeding 
will destroy the appetite or produce an in¬ 
flated or poddy condition and stunt t he pig. 
“Blind staggers" are earned by disordered 
stomachs. Rubbing turpentine on the top of 
the head causes an active evaporation, and no 
doubt has a stimulating effect on the whole 
system; but the best remedy is more care in 
feeding, and feeding in such a way that the 
stomach is kept in a vigorous and healthful 
state, aud theu there will be no rush of blood 
to the head, but it will be equally distributed 
all over the body, and the stomach will retain 
its portion. Young pigs should have an op¬ 
portunity to get to grass or some sort of green 
food, as it helps them wonderfully. They 
like to root iu the ground, and this, too, is a 
natural condition. They will eat more and 
thrive better when they can have these oene- 
flts. A sensit.le farmer will try ro have the 
surroundings and food for his pigs conform to 
theii natures as much as possible, and in so 
far as he does he will benefit nimself. A pig 
appreciates all of these things as much as any 
animal, and Car more so than most others. 
Kirby Homestead, N. Y. 
A PROLIFIC BROOD SOW. 
Who can beat this for pigs? Mr. Jacob 
Geartiardt (an old subscriber to the Rural), 
RUSSIAN MULBERRY LEAF. Fig. 84. 
residing near Burbank, O., is theowuerof a 
orood sow bred by S. F. Kerns (also a sub¬ 
set ibei to the Rural), of the same place, a 
cross of Chester White and Berkshire, that 
farrowed IS pigs on March 14,1883, and again 
