68 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February 
Sowing Weed Seeds. 
The scattering of the seeds of weeds is 
most carefully provided for in their natural 
distribution. The careless farmer does better 
by them than Nature, for he sows them 
broadcast in well prepared soil, and under 
the most favorable condition for a rapid 
growth. It will soon be time to sow clover 
seed upon the melting snows of late winter 
or early spring, and every farmer should be 
on his guard, and not seed down his land to 
troublesome weeds for many years to come. 
The clover seed should be carefully exam¬ 
ined. There is no need of argument here; 
if the farmer does not feel the 
importance of clean seeds and 
weedless fields, and will not 
select his seed with care, no 
amount of talk can do him much 
good. We hope that the num¬ 
ber of such farmers is small, and 
growing smaller, year by year. 
The best way to examine the 
seed is to spread out a teaspoon¬ 
ful or so upon a sheet of white 
paper, and go carefully over the 
whole, with a hand lens or 
magnifying glass. The beginner 
will first need to become familiar 
with the clover seed itself, which 
looks, under the glass, like small 
beans somewhat distorted. The 
seed of the rib-grass, or narrow¬ 
leaved plantain, is of nearly the 
same size and color as clover, 
and their separation is effected 
with difficulty. The rib-grass 
seed is convex on one side, and 
concave on the other. This is 
not the worst of weeds, and, in 
fact, it has frequently been sown 
for pasturage, and thus intro¬ 
duced into a neighborhood. This 
plantain is so inferior to clover 
as a forage plant, that great care 
should be taken in keeping it 
from the field. The long, striped, and small 
seeds of the ox-eye daisy, or “ white weed,” 
are easily distinguished from the clover. This 
is a weed that covers many of the fields in 
the Eastern States, to the exclusion of other 
herbage, and is spreading westward. All 
seeds brought from the East should be care¬ 
fully examined for this plant pest, and re¬ 
jected if present. It is of the greatest im¬ 
portance to keep out foul seed from new 
lands. The seed of the blue-weed or “ blue 
devil ” is quite large, easily recognized, and 
is one of the worst of all weeds. No clover 
seed containing the large, angular seeds of 
this weed should be sown. Once in posses¬ 
sion of the soil, it is eradicated with great 
difficulty. Perhaps there is no more dreaded 
pest of the fields than the Canada thistle, and 
every one of its long, slender seeds should be 
absent from all clover seed that is to be sown. 
Let every farmer sow only clean seed. Then 
the dealers must be more careful in their 
work, and less foul land will be found. 
Iti'oom Making.-A man with a small 
farm may increase his profits by growing a 
quantity of broom corn and making it into 
brooms during the winter. Broom corn re¬ 
quires a rich soil and needs much attention 
during its early growth. The young plants 
are weak and easily overcome by weeds. The 
later care and cultivation are much the same 
as with corn until the time for “tabling,” by 
which is meant the breaking of the stalks 
about two feet from the ground, so that two 
rows fall diagonally across each other. If 
the farmer does not find time to make the 
brush into brooms during this season of leis¬ 
ure, it can generally be sold at a paying price. 
The Alpine, or “Four Seasons” Straw¬ 
berries. 
It is a matter of surprise to French horti¬ 
culturists, that the varieties of strawberries 
most popular with them, are so little culti¬ 
vated with us, that they may almost be said 
to be unknown. The Alpine strawberries 
are derived from Fragaria vesca, a native 
both of Europe and of this country. Our 
common varieties are mostly crosses between 
our native F. Virginiana and the South 
American F. grandiflora. The chief char¬ 
acters that distinguish the Alpines from 
other varieties are: pale, thin leaves, with 
the flowers on erect stalks, extending above 
the leaves, as shown in the cut. The fruit, 
usually conical, shows a marked difference 
in having the grains or seeds upon the sur¬ 
face, and not in little pits or depressions, as 
in our common berries. One reason for the 
lack of popularity in this country is the 
generally smaller size of the Alpines ; an¬ 
other is their peculiar flavor. This, while 
exceedingly delicate and highly relished by 
many, is quite unlike that of the other kinds, 
and is, at first, disappointing. In the envi¬ 
rons of Paris, where strawberries are grown 
extensively, the Alpine varieties (Fraisiers 
des quatre saisons) have almost entirely su¬ 
perseded the others. Whether the Alpines 
would ever be profitable in our markets, is 
doubtful; but for the amateur and for the 
home garden, they have many points in their 
favor, not the least being that they bear from 
June until frost. The common Alpine, of 
which there is a red and a white-fruited 
form, may be propagated from runners; the 
Bush Alpines, both red and white, may be 
multiplied by division of the old plants, but 
preferably by seeds; indeed, this is much the 
best way of propagating all the Alpines, as 
they come remarkably true from seed. The 
routine with the French growers is as fol¬ 
lows: the earliest, largest, and best fruits 
are selected for seeds, which are washed out, 
dried, and sown early in July in pans or 
boxes. Late in August, the plants are pricked 
out to four inches apart each way. Early in 
the next March, they have their final trans¬ 
planting, and are set twelve or fifteen inches 
apart. This first year, all the runners are 
kept off, and all the flower-buds are removed 
until the middle of June, from which time 
they remain in full bearing until frosts. The 
second year of bearing begins in May, and 
continues the whole summer, giving by far 
the finest and most abundant crop. When 
this is gathered, a new bed is made ready to 
take its place. The Alpines may usually be 
found at the nurseries, and seeds can readily 
be obtained from the French seedsmen. 
Strawberry-Beds.—A Substitute for Pots. 
It is now generally known that by striking 
runners in pots, one can save a year in mak¬ 
ing a strawberry-bed. This method is now 
largely practised, and would be more general 
were it not for the difficulty of getting the 
pots. The first cost of pots is moderate, and 
those who live near potteries will find them 
cheaper than any substitute. But many 
fruit growers are living far away from pot¬ 
teries, and to transport such frail and heavy 
articles a great distance, makes the cost 
more than offset their value. Unless some 
substitute can be devised, many such persons 
must forego the advantages which this 
method presents. Among the various sub¬ 
stitutes for pots, one proposed by “A. R. 
W.,” Greenbriar Co., West Va., is novel, and 
appears to be practicable. In spring, when 
the buds swell and the bark will “run” ox 
peel, Mr. W. selects and cuts straight chest¬ 
nut poles (suckers ai-e preferable), from two 
to three inches in diameter. With a fine 
saw he makes a cut quite around the pole, 
through the bark, at eveiy three inches of its 
length. A knife, is then drawn lengthwise 
of the pole, cutting through the bark; this 
will allow each piece of bark to be pulled off. 
For bottoms, pieces are cut from the wood of 
the pole, about half an inch thick. One of 
these sections is 
placed in a piece 
of the bark, and 
held in place by 
putting around a 
tie made from the 
inner bark of the 
chestnut, or of 
bass-wood. These 
bark pots are filled with earth, plunged in 
the soil of the bed, and runners are struck in 
them as if they were regular flower-pots. 
They have one advantage over the clay pots : 
when the plants are transferred to the new 
bed, it is not necessaiy to remove them, but 
the pots and all are planted in the soil with¬ 
out disturbing the roots, as the bark soon 
decays. The above engravings show a sec¬ 
tion of the bark removed, and a bottom made 
from the same pole, ready to be put in, 
when the wooden pot is complete. 
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