AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
52 
[February, 
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,-fr/j . -4 An. Early Crop of Peas. 
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' 'There are two distinct classes of peas, those 
with small round seeds, and others with much 
larger, irregularly shaped peas, the surface of 
.whichufe^Wrinklefl. The wrinkled seeded, or mar¬ 
row peas, ar§_ as much better than the others as 
sweet,corn is superior to field corn. The round 
Jpea§, while not ,SQ good, are much hardier and 
earlier tlptufthe. others. Unless the soil is warm, 
arid .they germipjate quickly, wrinkled peas will 
decay before thqy can come up. The round peas 
.are" vastly bettey than no peas, and are very accept¬ 
able until the others come. To have early peas, 
they must be sown early—the earlier the better. 
After the soil has thawed for the first four inches, 
even' if it is" solid below, sow peas. If the ground 
Wtas manured and plowed last autumn, all the bet¬ 
ter ; if riot, select the richest available spot, and 
Open a’diill four'inches deep. Peas should be cov¬ 
ered deeper than most other seeds. For varieties, 
fhe-^ w Early'Kdriit-”'is one of the best; it has al- 
-triost ds mahy-dames as there are dealers. Dan¬ 
iel 'O’Rourke ”-is one of the names of a good strain 
dft'f-h'is’pea" 1 ‘‘Carter's First Crop” is another 
good variety,’ and every spring new extra early 
eorth are sent from England, which usually turn 
out to be the old “ EaFly Kent,” with a new name. 
The peas- should. be. sown in the bottom of the 
drill rather Thickly, at least one every iuch, and at 
first covered with about an inch of soil. It is well 
to put about four inches of coarse stable manure 
over the rows ; this is to be left on in cold days, 
but when it is sunny and warm, pull it off with the 
rake, and let the snn strike the soil over the peas, 
replacing it at night. When the peas sprout, gradu¬ 
ally cover them with fine warm soil, placing the 
coarse manure oyer them as needed, until the cov¬ 
ering of soil reaches the level of the surface. If 
a ridge of soil, a few inches higher than the peas, 
’be drawn up on each side of the row, it will greatly 
protect them from cold winds. When the plants 
are a few inches high, draw some fine soil up to 
them, and stick in the brush. When the soil be¬ 
comes dry and warm, the main crop of wrinkle^ 
peas may be sown. 
Every One Can Graft. 
d. Our first successful grafting was done at the age 
-of nine years. “At home ” we had an old orchard 
ihat’ seemed to be past its period of usefulness, 
‘ and what apples it did bear were of inferior sorts. 
-Ttfwas a question whether to cut down the trees, 
-<or try and rejuvenate them by the application of 
an abundance of manure, well stirred into the 
'soil, anti by grafting the old limbs with new and 
superior varieties of fruit. It was concluded to 
; see'Vhat virtue .there Was in manure and cions, 
arid' fhis gave us an opportunity to watch the pro¬ 
cess of grafting. Before the job was finished we 
' had' learned the art of editing a cion, making a 
: dleft,-applying the wax, etc. Later in the season 
it was a source eff much gratification to 6ee the 
’ybung grafts we 'had put in, growing along with 
“those seriby a master-hand. 
This retriiniscence of youth is given as a proof 
That grafting is'not a mohopoly of gifted minds, 
c br an art that crin only'be acquired by the few. 
■ With the ordinary amounted “gumption” to begin 
'-with, followed "by cSreful teaching for only a short 
dime, almost Any one can graft successfully. Graft- 
simply planting a catting of one variety in 
•■‘the wood of another, instead of in the soil. It is 
essential that the growing layer of the cion and 
dMricfk come in close’contact, and be so held until 
‘■they'grow together. Sow is the time to get the 
Kofi's." They may be bought at most, nurseries, and 
^rferitfririre Should be Tdkeri"'tt> get only the best 
■•varieties. If cut at home, be equally careful to 
•' get them of ’tire right kind,' cutting only twigs 
of last season’s growth. Each sort should be 
fcrit separately arid. ; tied iff bundles, labelled, 
'•rifiil’aftei-ridrds^/piit iti boxes, with damp saw¬ 
dust or moss, arid' 'kept' in a cool place until 
used. A fine saw, two good knives, one strong 
and heavy, the other smaller, with a keen edge; 
a hard-wood wedge, six inches long and half 
an inch thick, and a small mallet are the imple¬ 
ments used in grafting. The wax may be easily 
made by melting together, beeswax 6 oz., rosin and 
tallow 4 oz. each, over a moderate fire, stirring 
gradually until all is melted. Rolls of waxed cloth 
may he formed from old cotton stuff made thin 
by wear, and torn into strips two inches wide. 
Wind the strips upon a stick and dip them into the 
melted wax ; when the cloth is thoroughly penetra¬ 
ted by the wax, remove, let drip, and put away 
from dust ready for use. 
Grafting should be done as soon as the buds be¬ 
gin to swell. Having determined upon the place 
for the graft, saw off the branch, smooth the cut 
surface and make a cleft with the knife and mallet. 
Cut the cion from the twig, leaving two or three 
buds upon the piece, and sharpen the lower end 
into a wedge. Open the cleft with the knife and 
place the cion in carefully so that the lower bud 
comes at the top of the cleft. The inner bark, or 
growing layer, of the cion and the 6tock should 
touch as much as possible. If the grafted branch 
is small, a single cion is enough, otherwise, put in 
one on each side. Unroll enough waxed cloth to 
cover the wound of both stock and cions, and press 
it on carefully and closely. The quick application 
of this protection is only a matter of practice. It is 
well for beginners to 6tart with worthless limbs 
before doing regular grafting in the orchard. If 
possible find some one in the neighborhood famil¬ 
iar with the process and learn the art from him. 
The general principles maybe obtained from print¬ 
ed directions, but the success of the work will 
depend upon the knack, and that is only acquired 
in the orchard. 
Be Ready Early. 
A season of activity is near at hand. Spring is 
coming, with its pressing work. Are farmers 
ready for sowing and planting ? Every implement 
should be provided beforehand, that no time may 
be wasted in making purchases or repairs after the 
work should begin. We have known a half-day of 
plowing to be lost because the whiffletrees were 
not at hand. Some farmers start out with their 
spring plowing without a single plow point in 
stock, and when one is needed, the team is taken 
from the field and driven to the store. Such a loss 
of time is a serious matter, and should be thought¬ 
fully guarded against by ample provision of all 
such articles of the farm. It is a poor time to mend 
a harrow when it should be at work in the field. 
We do not favor that economy—if it may be 60 
called—that relies upon the neighbors for many of 
the tools of the farm. There are certain farm im¬ 
plements that may be owned in partnership, as 
a roller or reaper, but the constant borrowing of 
rakes, forks, etc., is not a wise and economical 
practice. Be provided with all these essential 
farm tools, and have them in good order, and at 
baud when the time arrives for using them. 
Now is the time to look to these matters, and 
make all needed preparations for the busy days 
that will soon be here. In the peace of winter 
prepare for the war of spring. 
American Pork OTost Healthful.— If Ger¬ 
many wishes to “ protect ” her swine industry by 
shutting out cheaper pork from this country, and 
compelling the great consuming class to pay much 
higher prices for the home product, it should be 
done “on the square,” just as our protectionists 
openly proclaim their object. It is very unfriendly 
and unjust to exclude American pork on the plea 
that it is dangerous, and thus discredit it in other 
countries. The truth is, nearly, or quite all Ameri¬ 
can hog products exported are produced from 
good sound corn, and are much freer from danger 
of trichina and other diseases than if from swine 
kept in close quarters, and fed on slops, kitchen 
refuse, and decayed stuff that other animals will 
not consume, as is the case with a large percentage 
of those grown in Europe. 
Sorghum and its Prospects. 
Having been instrumental in the early in¬ 
troduction and distribution of the seeds of 
Sorghum to the farmers of this country, the 
American Agriculturist has watched the progress 
of the culture with no little interest. At times 
the value of Sorghum has been over-estimated, 
and it failed to meet extravagant expectations. 
Again, there have been seasons of depression, 
when its cultivation was almost entirely abandon¬ 
ed. A few have looked upon the plant as of too 
much importance to be given up; these have 
availed themselves of every favoring circumstance, 
such as new varieties and improved methods of 
culture and manufacture, and have met in conven¬ 
tion to help one another by reporting their expe¬ 
rience, and for the mutual encouragement that 
comes from associated action. The annual meeting 
of the Mississippi Valley Cane-growers was held at 
St. Louis, in December last, and was attended by 
representatives from fourteen States; from New 
York and New Jersey at the East, to Kansas and 
Louisiana at the West and South. From the re¬ 
ports sent us by our correspondent, it appears that 
the members found much to encourage them in 
the experience of the past year, and that as the 
growing and manufacture of Sorghum are better 
understood, the greater is its value to our agricul¬ 
ture. The specimens exhibited at the convention 
included 30 samples of sugar, 15 of melado, 90 
samples of syrup, 40 of seed-heads, 6 of threshed 
seed, and one of cane-seed flour—all the specimens 
showing a great improvement over those presented 
at the former meeting. 
In all manufactures the utilization of the waste, 
or “ by-products ” contributes largely to profit, 
and Sorghum is no exception. Discussion on this 
poiut showed that the begasse, or the refuse cane 
after it has been pressed, might in some localities 
be most profitably used for fuel, while in others, 
it may be converted into a valuable paper stock. 
It may also be used directly as a fertilizer, and 
thus return to the soil nearly all that the cane took 
from it. Or it may be fed to stock, and returned 
to the land indirectly. The skimmings removed in 
evaporating the juice to make syrup, are saved 
and converted into vinegar. One member report¬ 
ed having made 6,030 gallons of vinegar from the 
skimmings of 7,268 gallons of syrup. The seeds, 
produced far in excess of the demand for plant¬ 
ing, may be made another source of income ; from 
two and a half to four bushels of seed are grown 
with each ton of cane, and it is found to have a 
feeding value scarcely inferior to that of corn. 
The fact is well established that some varieties, 
especially the “Amber” and the “Orange,” will 
yield a large amount of crystallizable cane sugar, and 
that the cane contains the largest percentage of 
sugar at the time the seeds are ripe. It is found 
that after the cane is cut, the cane sugar in the 
juice rapidly changes ta grape sugar, and that the 
cane should be worked up within a few hours after 
cutting it. The making of sugar, on account of the 
expense of machinery and the skilled labor re¬ 
quired, can not be profitably followed by indi¬ 
viduals. There needs to be cooperation among 
farmers to establish and operate sugar works on the 
same plan that cheese factories are carried on, or 
they may agree to cultivate a certain number of 
acres in cane, provided capitalists will establish 
factories to work it up. In several Western States 
companies have erected factories and cultivated 
their own cane on a large scale. These have gen¬ 
erally been reported as financially successful. 
Syrup can be made by the farmer who grows the 
cane, for home use, or for sale. By the use of the 
best apparatus, and by care at .every step, a syrup 
of excellent quality may be produced, vastly bet¬ 
ter than that formerly made. The different va¬ 
rieties of Sorghum reach maturity in from 92 to 
132 days ; wherever there is good corn land, and a 
good corn-growing season of the above length, 
the cane can be successfully cultivated. As the 
time for planting Sorghum is about the same as 
for corn, we defer our remarks on its.cultivation. 
