1883 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
219 
a day. The brush should be freely used, that the 
sweat and dirt collected one day may not remain 
on during the next. An occasional sponge bath is 
helpful in keeping the horses in good trim. Look 
well to the feet, that no disease may come to these 
much exposed parts. Flies will soon come, and 
some protection from these pests should be made. 
A thin sheet, fitting the back, with strings to go 
under the neck and tail,is inexpensive and effective. 
Cattle. —The change from dry fodder to succulent 
pasture food is a critical one, and all animals need 
more than ordinary care at this time. Young stock 
are especially subject to disease from over-feeding 
on green grass, causing black leg, black quarter, 
and other dangerous troubles. It is best to make 
the change gradual, by turning the calves out to 
grass for only a part of each day. In-coming cows 
need to have their feed reduced before calving, to 
prevent garget. They should be kept from expos¬ 
ure to cold rains, and in a quiet place. A brush, 
well used, will go far towards giving the cattle 
smooth skins and a healthful condition. 
Sheep.- —There is money in early lambs, if they 
are pushed forward rapidly for the market. A 
small flock in fine flesh, sold early, often brings 
more profit than a large one of late and poorly-fed 
lambs. Ewes, from which lambs have been taken, 
sometimes need the milk removed from their ud¬ 
ders. Dry ewes, if not to be kept, may be fattened 
rapidly and marketed. All sheep should be care¬ 
fully tagged before being turned out to grass. 
Much disease in the lambs is caused by filth from 
the mother’s wool; therefore clip the wool from 
about the udder. From now until warm weather 
of early summer is a specially trying period for 
sheep. Parturition, the care of ewes and lambs, 
tagging, washing, shearing, etc., etc., require 
and should receive the owner’s attention and 
watchfulness. Do not turn out to pasture too 
early. Permit the grass to secure a sufficient 
growth to become nutritious. The temptation to 
dispose of surplus hay and grain about this time 
is great. It, however, is poor economy to deprive 
sheep of dry food, when they can get but a bare 
sustenance from the pasture. Let the change be 
gradual, turning them out an hour or two at a 
time, until there is no danger of too great a loose¬ 
ness of the bowels. A little flax-seed or oil-meal 
may be advantageously fed at this time. Do not 
be tempted to too early washing and shearing of 
sheep. Wait until the weather is warm and set¬ 
tled, and after the washing' takes place, turn the 
sheep either upon a dry, clean pasture, or into a 
straw-littered yard. The change from a thick 
fleece to none at all should not be made while cold 
spring winds are blowing, and rain-storms are fre¬ 
quent. If, after shearing, there comes a cool, wet 
day, shelter the shorn sheep at once. After May 
has passed, sheep will require but little care. 
Swine. —The profit of proper pig-raising is given 
on page 234 by an authority in swine husbandry. 
Pigs need arun at grass. An orchard is afine place 
for swine ; it affords good grazing for the pigs, 
while the trees are benefited by the destruction of 
insect pests. Young pigs may be fed milk at an 
early age with profit. Much depends upon the 
early start that an animal gets. 
Poultry. —Hens should already have given good 
returns in eggs for the attention paid them, and 
now the young chicks are coming forward. Pullets 
hatched this month should begin to lay early in 
the fall, and with a warm house, will continue giv¬ 
ing eggs through the winter. Young chicks need 
to be kept clean and in a dry place. Move the 
coops frequently. If in the garden, they will catch 
many insects that ought to be destroyed. 
The Orchard and Nursery. 
The spring months, at least in the Northern 
States, are the most uncertain of the year, and 
it often happens that the works proper to April can 
not be performed until May. 
Tree Planting may still be done ; if the trees were 
heeled-in and shaded their growth will have been 
retarded. Observe what was said last month about 
trees that have begun to grow while in transit. 
Grafting. —The best time for grafting is just as 
the buds on the stock are beginning to swell. But 
it may be done even when the trees are in bloom, 
though at this late time great care must be taken. 
As soon as growth starts in the stock, this bark 6lips 
readily and there is danger of making bad wounds 
when the branches are cut off. It is best to 
cut the bark quite through with a knife, before 
using the saw. If there are buds on the stock just 
below the insertion of the graft, do not remove 
them until after those upon the graft have started. 
Budded Trees. —Peach and other trees budded 
last summer, must be cut back as soon as the buds 
swell. Some leave four or five inches of stock 
above the inserted bud, to be cut away in August, 
but peach-growers usually make the cut just above 
the bud at once. If the inserted bud is alive, rub 
off all others that appear od the stock. 
Cultivating in the Orchard. — Manured crops may 
be given between the rows in a young orchard, with¬ 
out injury to the trees. Potatoes or roots, melons 
and beans are suitable ; sweet corn can be grown 
as the stalks may be cut early and not, like field 
corn, retard the ripening of the wood of the trees. 
A Bearing Orchard should have the whole ground. 
The best treatment is to sow clover and pasture the 
pigs upon it. 
Insects. —If canker worm moths have ascended 
the trees and laid their eggs, the worms must be 
killed by applying, by means of a syringe, Paris 
green stirred in water. As soon as the webs of the 
Tent Caterpillars are seen, remove them in early 
morning before the worms go out. The curculio 
will attack plums and peaches soon after the fruit 
is set. Jarring off the insects, catching them on a 
sheet spread under the trees and burning them, is 
the only remedy. 
BlackKnots, often destructive to cherries as well 
as plums, should be cut away and burned. It may 
be necessary to cut off the entire branch if the 
knots are large. If discovered when they first ap¬ 
pear they may be cut out; washing the wound with a 
solution of chloride of lime may prevent spreading. 
Seeds of Evergreens may now be sown ; you ng seed¬ 
lings must be shaded from the hot sun. This may 
be done by a frame work of poles supported on 
crotched stakes, far enough above the bed to allow 
of working under it, and covered with brush. On 
a small scale the seeds may be sown in frames 
which are shaded by placing a lath-work over them. 
Thinning the Fruit. —The best time for removing 
the surplus fruit is when its growth shows how 
much is set. The removal of one-half or two- 
thirds of the number set will not diminish the 
quantity, by measure, that will come to perfection. 
The Fruit Garden. 
Strawberries. —The planting should be completed 
as soon as possible. Whatever may be the after 
treatment, the plants should not be allowed to 
form runners during the first season. The mulch, 
if not already on the bearing beds, should be put 
there at once. The picking of the crops began in 
Florida in February, and continues on northward as 
the season advances. The greater the distance 
from market, the less ripe should the fruit be when 
picked. An over-ripe berry or two will spoil the 
contents of a basket. After picking, the baskets 
should be set in the shade in order that the fruit 
may cool off before being placed in the crates. 
Mulching , which is a necessity for strawberries, 
may be applied to currants and other fruits with 
benefit. Those who live near the coast, find the 
grass of the salt-marshes excellent. It is very wiry 
and elastic, and does not introduce seeds of weeds. 
Those who live inland use the hay of fresh marshes 
or straw. In some of the Southern States, “pine- 
straw” or “pine-needles,” as the leaves of the pine 
trees are called, is the most readily available ma¬ 
terial. Corn stalks are sometimes used. 
The White Grub is often destructive to the 
strawberry. When a vine is seen to droop its 
leaves, it will be found that its roots have been cut 
off. Search for, and find the worm before it can 
destroy other plants. 
Currants and Gooseberries. —The bushes should 
have more attention than they usually get. An an¬ 
nual manuring will greatly increase the size of the 
fruit, and a mulch will retard the ripening and pro¬ 
long the season. Near a city market the fruit, 
usually brings a better price if sold green, than 
when ripe. 
The Currant Wo™,—Though more than one in¬ 
sect is called by this name, the treatment is the 
same for all. When holes appear in the leaves, no 
time should be lost in applying the remedy. Scald 
a heaping tablespoonful of powdered White Helle¬ 
bore with a little hot water, and when thoroughly 
mixed, turn it into a pailful of cold water. Apply 
with a syringe or garden pump. In three or four 
days repeat the dose. Usually two applications 
are enough, but if more worms are found, follow 
up this treatment; it will surely dispose of them. 
Blackberries and Raspberries. —It should be borne 
in mind that the crop of fruit for next year will be 
upon the canes which grow this season. Therefore 
those needed for the purpose should be selected, 
and all others cut off, unless they will be wanted 
for planting elsewhere. 
Grape Vines. —The novice should bear in mind 
that the whole new growth of the vine and the 
fruit, comes from the buds that were upon the 
canes at the fall of the leaf. In vineyard culture 
we want the fruit, and all parts of the vine, within, 
reach. Hence we renew the growth each year from 
the lower buds on each cane, usually cuttiug away 
all of the cane above the lowest two buds. If we 
wish to train a vine upon an arbor, at the top of a 
fence, or high up on a building, we can easily do it 
by allowing some of the uppermost buds to grow 
and suppressing the lower ones. The vine is so 
easily managed, that whoever has a few feet of 
soil for the roots can have an abundance of grapes. 
Grape-vine Insects are numerous. As soon as 
the young shoots start, a small caterpillar will often 
be found rolled up in the young leaves, and should 
be removed. As soon as the vine is in flower, 
the rose-bugs will attack the blossoms. This in¬ 
sect can be kept in subjection only by catchingand 
killing it. In early morning they are torpid and 
may be shaken from the vines. Catch them in a 
pan holding a little water upon which there floats 
a film of kerosene. 
Training the Vine. —In vineyard training the 
shoots are kept tied to the trellis. It is customary 
to pinch off the shoot at two or three leaves above 
the upper cluster. New shoots from canes that 
have been layered should be kept tied up to stakes. 
Toung vines, making their first growth, should pro¬ 
duce but a single shoot; if others start, remove 
them, and tie up the strongest to a stake. 
Kitchen anti Market Garden. 
In many places it is customary to move on the 
first of May, and those who change their residence 
at this time are obliged to commence their garden 
operations rather late in the season. This should 
not discourage, for with the exception of peas, 
beets, and a few others, it is quite early enough in 
the Northern States. Last month we gave hints 
concerning those vegetables that are sown early, 
and it is not necessary to repeat them here. In the 
climate of New York City, the weather is not 
usually sufficiently settled and the soil properly 
warmed to allow of the sowing of the seeds of ten¬ 
der plants, or transplanting such plants from hot¬ 
beds, much before the middle of the month. 
Corn-planting Time, which is readily ascertained 
for each locality, is the earliest period at which it is. 
safe to risk plants that are natives of warmcoun tries. 
Vegetable Plants, is the dealers’ name for those 
plants which are raised under glass to be trans¬ 
planted to the open ground. Cabbages, cauliflow¬ 
ers, tomatoes, egg plants and peppers are the prin¬ 
cipal vegetables thus treated, and they are now to 
be obtained at such low rates that those who need 
but a few for their gardens find it cheaper to buy 
than to raise them. 
Succession Crops of those things which are in per¬ 
fection but a short time, such as radishes, spinach, 
etc., should have a fresh sowing made every week. 
