1883.J 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
51 
Begin Any Time. 
INASMUCH as every issue is com¬ 
plete in itself, you can begin your sub¬ 
scription with any number. 
Hints for February. 
Orchard and Garden Work lor the 
Month. 
There are many farms on which no orchard is 
found. The settler in a new country may have 
some excuse for this, at least for a few years, but 
even with him an orchard of fine fruit should come 
early in the development of his farm. We 6liall 
continue to teach that every farmer should have an 
orchard, and guard its interests well. 
Orchard Planting is, therefore, a timely theme to 
consider in February. No one should set an orchard 
unless he can feel that the trees have the first right 
to the soil. It is often stated that orchards are un¬ 
productive and the trees are degenerating owing 
to change of climate or other unknown cause, 
when the real cause of the trouble is starvation. 
The land has been forced to yield a regular field 
crop aside from the fruit, without making proper 
returns in manure or commercial fertilizers. A 
newly planted orchard should be cultivated by 
growing only such crops as require manure and 
will leave the soil in a good condition. 
When the trees come into bearing, regular crop¬ 
ping should cease. Turning an orchard into a 
grain field or meadow is to bring ruin. If kept in 
clover and pastured with pigs, it is excellent both 
for the pigs and for the orchard. An occasional 
plowing turns under the sod, and it becomes a 
fine fertilizer and keeps the soil in good tilth. 
Ordering Trees .— It is best to send in the orders for 
trees before the spring opens, as they will receive 
more prompt attention than those of late spring, 
when work is pressing. Should the trees freeze on 
the way, the packages may be put in a cool room or 
under straw to thaw gradually. A mistake is often 
made in selecting large trees. A two-year-old 
tree will come into bearing about as soon after set¬ 
ting as one three or four years old, besides being 
much more sure to live. The larger the tree, the 
more the roots are injured in transplanting; it is 
also easier to bring a young tree into good form by 
early pruning. Other things being equal, buy of the 
nearest nurseryman. We advise caution in dealing 
with unknown tree peddlers, who tell wonderful 
things of varieties exclusively their own. Some 
excellent nurseries send out agents, and when they 
are authorized and responsible, it is 6afe to buy of 
them. Most of the leading nurserymen publish 
Catalogues of varieties; it is well to send for some 
of these and compare the prices, etc. Study well 
the needs of the family, market, soil, climate, etc., 
and order early. 
Books. —There are excellent books on fruit-grow¬ 
ing in which all the details of the work are given by 
successful men, and now is a good time to look up 
these points and profit by the experience of others. 
Such works give lists of the varieties, with descrip¬ 
tions, that aid greatly in making the selection of 
sorts, as well as directions for cultivation. 
Insects must be looked after. The clusters of 
eggs of the tent caterpillar may be easily seen on 
the twigs on a dull day ; they form a ring half an 
inch or more wide. The canker-worms come out 
of the ground in early spring—sometimes during 
this month, and ascend the trees to lay their eggs. 
The females are wingless, and may be kept from 
the trees by putting bands of tarred paper—coarse 
brown paper smeared with tar or with printer’s 
ink—closely around the trunks of the tress. Put on 
these bands before any signs of the moth appear. 
Hice and Babbits may do mischief, especially after 
heavy snows, and trees should be guarded against 
their gnawing teeth. For mice, tramp the snow 
down closely around the trees, that they may not 
be able to work under it. Smear the trunk with 
blood to drive away the rabbits. 
Hot-beds will now be needed in the Southern 
States. As a general rule these forcing pits should 
be started about six weeks before the time to 6et 
the plants in the open ground. The heating mate¬ 
rial is stable-manure that has become warm in the 
pile. If there is not sufficient litter in the mass, 
leaves may be added to modify the violence of the 
heat. When the manure has been turned two or 
three times in the pile it is ready for use. The 
manure may be either placed in a pit or on the sur¬ 
face. In making a pit, excavate the earth two feet 
deep, as wide as the sashes, and line the sides of 
the pit with rough boards which extend above 
ground a few inches in front and a foot at the 
rear. Strips are nailed across from front to rear, 
where the sashes come together. The sashes are 
usually three by six feet, and may be bought at any 
sash factory. Select for the hot-bed a dry place, 
that is sheltered from the north by a fence, build¬ 
ing, or screen. Place six inches of leaves or litter 
in the bottom of the pit, followed by a layer of ma¬ 
nure well beaten down. When the pit is full, tramp 
the manure down evenly, and put on a thick 
layer of earth. This earth should be rich and fine. 
Good garden 6oil mixed with fine manure, and sand 
enough to make it open is best. When the beds are 
made above ground, much the same arrangement of 
material is needed, only they are built up from 
the surface and to the hight of about three feet. A 
compromise between the two hot-beds is frequently 
adopted. A strong heat will soon rise after the bed 
is made. After this has passed off the seeds may 
be sown in rows four inches apart. Some garden¬ 
ers use boxes of earth for the seeds, which are 
placed in the beds. The young plants need watch¬ 
ing. Remove all weeds, and water freely ; air and 
shade the plants, as the daily needs demand. 
r A'lie H'rnit Garden. 
Supports for blackberries, raspberries, and grape 
vines, may be made in the winter and kept in readi¬ 
ness. For blackberries, stakes about six feet high 
are needed, A wire trellis is made by setting a 
stout post at each end of the row, with a strong 
wire running between, to which the vines are tied. 
The same kind of support, with the wire placed 
lower, is well suited for rows of raspberries. Wire 
may be used for supporting grape vines. The posts 
are to be 6et 8 to 10 feet apart, with a strip nailed 
on near the ground, and another at the top ; the 
wires pass perpendicularly between the two hori¬ 
zontal strips. The arms of the vines are fastened 
to the lower cross-piece, and the young shoots are 
raised up along the wires. The supports used for 
the fruit garden should be made ready in advance, 
and if painted beforehand, much time is saved. 
Selecting Fruits, Trees, etc. —That which has been 
6aid on this subject under the “Orchard and 
Garden,” applies with equal force here. Select 
with care, and order early of the most trustworthy 
dealers. There are new sorts each year, and the 
only Safeway is to buy only a few of these, and rely 
upon well-tested varieties for the bulk of the order. 
Pruning that was omitted last fall should be at¬ 
tended to now, or as soon as the weather will per¬ 
mit. Grape vines need to be pruned long before 
the buds begin to swell. The currant and goose¬ 
berry bushes start growing early, and should be 
pruned before they begin to grow. 
Manure. —The soil'of the fruit garden should be 
rich, and manure, ashes, and fertilizers need to be 
applied freely, when most convenient. 
I’lower Garden and I,awn. 
There is but little out-of-door work in this de¬ 
partment during winter. When heavy snows come, 
as they frequently do in February, the snow needs 
to be removed from the evergreen trees. This 
should be done while th“ snow is fresh, before it 
bends and breaks the limbs, or becomes frozen on 
them. Make all the plans for drives, walks, and 
flower-beds, and if these are at all extensive, it is 
well to have a chart drawn up to follow when the 
out-door work begins. If manure has not been 
applied as a top-dressing to the lawn, it may be 
put on now. It should be well rotted, and free 
from any seeds of weeds. The seeds for the flow¬ 
er-beds should be selected, and those for early 
growth may be started in the window boxes. 
Greenhouse and Window Plants. 
The plants of the window and greenhouse are 
most appreciated during this month, and previous 
care should be giving its best returns. Bulbs of 
hyacinths, narcissus, etc., are now brought from 
the cellar and forced into bloom. It is time to 
make the necessafy preparations of boxes, sand, 
etc., that will soon be needed for the cuttings of 
verbenas, geraniums, etc. 
Water and Ventilation.— The plants should have 
water as they need it. There should be an abun¬ 
dance of fresh air, and at the same time any undue 
exposure must be avoided. The sashes left open 
for a half hour may so chill the plants as to 
injure them seriously. 
Insects. —The green fly is killed by tobacco water; 
thorough washing destroys the red spider. The 
mealy bugs are best treated by hand picking or by 
using a pointed stick to remove them. Worms in 
pots are removed by turning out the ball of earth, 
when the worms may be found and picked out. 
How Good Country Hoads Pay. 
Very few persons take a correct view of the 
actual profit to farmers of good roads, or of how 
much they can afford to pay for them. Our daily 
telegrams from the West supply one hint. All 
along in autumn, and not unfrequently during the 
winter, we can read between the lines of these 
dispatches that business is active, the markets 
brisk, everybody cheerful and hopeful in all depart¬ 
ments of trade, manufactures, agriculture, etc., or 
the reverse of all this, according to the state of the 
country roads generally. It is a fact that in some 
years, for months together, the whole traffic of the 
country, and the activity and prosperity of all 
classes, are largely diminished, and the losses in- 
* curred amount to very many millions of dollars, 
because the condition of the roads stops general 
intercourse, and practically prevents the market¬ 
ing of grain and other crops at the proper season. 
Another view. Take, for illustration, say the 
700,000 farms in Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. Sup¬ 
pose that, on the average, from one-half of them 
there are ten loads of grain and other products to 
be hauled to market, and of fuel to be brought 
back, a distance of ten miles on the average—we 
include only half the farms. Call the cost per load 
only $2 for man, team, and wear of vehicles, when 
the wagoning is good. If the prairie and other 
roads are soft, wet, and miry, only half a load can 
be taken—often the team can barely draw the- 
empty wagon. If from the condition of the roads- 
the number of loads must be doubled, the ag¬ 
gregate increased cost amounts to $7,000,000—or 
enough to make fourteen thousand miles of good 
roads at an outlay of $500 on each mile. 
Another illustration. Take a township of the 
regular size, six miles square. A road along each, 
section, or square mile, east and west, or north and 
south, would require 36 miles. Suppose the town, 
voted to expend $200 per mile on these roads, and 
that this sum would make them fairly available at 
all seasons. This, if paid down, would amount to 
$7,200, or 311 cents per acre for the township. Will 
any one question that with good roads, available 
at all seasons for marketing and bringing home 
fuel, for town and church going and other travel, 
all the land in the region would be worth on the 
average at least one dollar an acre more, or three 
times the assessment ? On a farm of 100 acres, the 
tax would be $31.25—not a third of the cost of an 
extra horse, to say nothing of his keeping. In 
fact, would it not pay well to expend $600 per mile 
on all the leading roads, amounting to $1 an acre ? 
Th annual interest on this would be but $6 or $7 
for each 100-acre farm, and who would not pay 
that to have good roads always ? 
