1883 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
509 
need to be fed with special care at this time. If 
possible, the flow of milk must not be permitted 
to decrease. Mangels and sugar beets are excel¬ 
lent, cut in slices and sprinkled with bran. The 
rule, that good feeding brings good manure, should 
be kept in mind in a judicious care of farm ani¬ 
mals during winter. Good feed in abundance is not 
enough ; it should be given with regularity. The 
habits of different animals have to be studied, and 
treated accordingly. Scarcely any two cows or 
horses have the same appetites. It is important to 
so mix and change the feed, that sameness may be 
avoided. A variety of food encourages healthful 
digestion, and upon this the profits of the owner 
largely depend. 
Sheep will bear more exposure than any other 
domestic animal, but even they winter poorly with¬ 
out a good shelter. Sheds and yards should now 
be put in order, that there may be no delays in 
getting the flocks into their winter quarters. Ewes 
should now be with young, excepting when late 
lambs are desired. Half a pint of corn per day 
will aid in keeping each ewe in a good condition. 
All weak sheep should be placed by themselves 
and fattened for market. It does not pay to keep 
second-rate animals. 
Pigs are most profitable if fattened and sold be¬ 
fore mid-winter. A large part of the food is used 
up in simply maintaining the animal during the 
coldest winter weather. Well-bred swine will 
sometimes lose in weight during a severe storm. 
Give the pigs all the corn, or other feed, they will 
eat during the fattening period. Keep the pens 
clean, with an abuudance of litter, and supply all 
needed pure water. 
M r ork in tlie Orcliaril and Kursery. 
Over a large extent of territory November is one 
of the most uncertain of months ; it may be the 
beginning of a severe winter, or the end of a delight¬ 
ful autumn. The first object must be to secure the 
crops ; the next to prepare the orchards for winter, 
and, lastly, if the weather allows, to do whatever 
work may save a day in spring. 
The Care of Fruit .—Winter apples and pears 
should not be taken into the cellar until there is 
danger of freezing. They are much better off under 
a shed, so long as they can be kept there with 
safety. The fruit in undergoing the changes which 
take place in ripening, gives off heat, and the tem¬ 
perature of the cellar will rise from this cause. A 
thermometer should be kept in the cellar, and con¬ 
sulted. When it rises above thirty-five degrees, 
the windows should be opened. If fruit is stored 
in the house-cellar, establish, if possible, ventilatiou 
through a chimney. 
Draining the Orchard.—A wet soil is a most un¬ 
favorable site for an orchard. Fruit trees are often 
planted on such land with the intention of draining 
it the next year, or soou after. Half-done work 
is rarely completed. Other work seems more press¬ 
ing and the trees remain, year after year, with their 
roots in an unsuitable soil. As a consequence, the 
orchard is said to have “ run out” before it has 
reached its full productiveness. Such orchards may 
usually be restored by draining, and in many locali¬ 
ties no season is more favorable for laying drains 
than the present. Other work is not so pressing as 
in spring, and laying drains may be continued un¬ 
til cold weather prevents. 
The Protection of Young Orchards .—Young trees 
will be greatly injured, especially when the ground 
is covered with snow, if cattle, horses, or sheep, 
find access to them. Let the fences be in order, 
and the gates fastened by a wire or in other manner, 
to prevent opening ihem. Mice and rabbits often 
do serious injury to young trees. Mice work under 
cover, and all weeds and rubbish should be raked 
from about the trunks, and sharp mounds of earth, 
a foot or more high, be made at the base of each. 
Mice will work under snow, if it is light and reaches 
above the mounds, and it is well to trample it firmly 
around each tree. Rabbits are most effectively kept 
off, on the large scale, by smearing the trees with 
blood from the slaughter-house, using a swab of 
corn husks. Rubbing the trunks with liver, or 
bloody meat, answers the purpose. A shield of 
corn-stalks, or of laths, fastened by wire around 
the lower part of the trunks, will answer for a few 
trees. The boys should be encouraged to use traps ; 
rabbits are best for the table in early winter. 
Planting Fruit Trees .—Sufficient has been said on 
autumn plantiug in former months. How long it 
may be continued, will depend upon the season. 
Wherever the soil is in good condition, trees may 
still be planted, but by no means should they be 
set if the ground is partly frozen and unfit to come 
in contact with the roots. In such condition of the 
soil it will be better to heel-in the trees until spring. 
Stocks for Root-grafting.—The. work of root-graft¬ 
ing is done in winter ; the stocks are to be taken up 
before the ground freezes, and placed in the cellar, 
with their r^ots covered with saw-dust or moss. 
Cutting Cions.— Cions, whether to be used during 
the winter for root-grafting, or to be set in the 
branches of trees next spring, are much better if 
cut early, soon after the leaves have fallen. Cut 
only healthy, vigorous shoots of last summer’s 
growth, from trees known to be true to name. Tie 
in bundles, placing a label with each variety, and 
for fear that this may be lost, cut on the lower end 
of one of the cions, a smooth place on which to 
write a name or number. Saw-dust is by far the 
best material for packing them. Quince cuttings 
may be made now, and stored in moss or in earth. 
The TVuit Garden. 
Planting, as suggested last month, may be con¬ 
tinued, if the season is favorable. Protecting such 
plants as require a winter covering, should not be 
done too early ; when the surface of the soil is 
slightly frozen, is quite soon enough. Strawberry 
beds need the covering over the ground rather 
than upon the plants, where it should be very 
slight. Straw, marsh hay, and leaves, arc the usual 
materials ; in the absence of these, corn stalks 
are often employed. The tender kinds of rasp¬ 
berries are to be laid down and covered with earth. 
Where grape vines can be thus protected, It is 
useful, even for hardy kinds. 
Propagating .—Nothing gives those who are in¬ 
terested in gardening more pleasure than the mul¬ 
tiplication of their own plants. If not wanted for 
planting in their own gardens, they can have the 
satisfaction of presenting choice varieties to their 
friends. With many things in the fruit garden, 
the first step in propagating them is made at the 
fall pruning, as the portions removed in the opera¬ 
tion are those best suited for cuttings. 
Blackberries and Rasjoberries .—If the canes which 
bore the last season’s fruit were not cut away be¬ 
fore, they should be removed now. In a private 
garden, the suckers usually afford all the new 
plants that may be needed. Nurserymen propa¬ 
gate them from root-cuttings. These are two or 
three inches long, mixed with earth in a box, 
which is kept in a cool cellar, care being taken 
that the earth does not get too dry. 
Kitclicu and Market Garden. 
In a well-managed garden, as soon as one crop is 
off, the ground is made ready for another, if the 
season allows. In stiff soils, especially, plowing or 
spading, and leaving them rough through the win¬ 
ter, greatly improves them. 
P’esemng Roots in Whiter.—Parsnips, salsif} - , and 
horseradish are not injured by hard freezing ; all 
others must be stored for the winter, and a suf¬ 
ficient supply of the hardy kinds should also be 
taken up. We have described various methods of 
storing roots in back numbers of the American 
Agriculturist. If the cellar is not too warm, a sup¬ 
ply for present use may be kept in boxes or barrels, 
and covered with earth, to prevent shrivelling. 
Cabbages .—The usual method is to pull the cab¬ 
bages, set them in a dry place, heads downwards, 
and on the approach of cold weather, cover with a 
coating of leaves up to the ends of the roots; 
light soil is often used instead of leaves. For fam¬ 
ily use, it is convenient to dig a trench where water 
will not stand, and set the cabbages, with what 
soil adheres to the roots, close together, upright, 
in this. Make a sloping covering with boards. As 
cold weather comes on, place a layer of leaves or 
straw over the heads. Soft cabbages thus treated 
will very often form firm heads by spring. 
Asparagus and Rhubarb .—Though these plants' 
are quite hardy, the beds will produce all the bet¬ 
ter and earlier if they have a covering of three or 
four inches of manure. All litter should be first 
cleared off, and if not already done, the aspara¬ 
gus tops should be burned. 
Crops Wintered in the Ground, such as spinach, 
sprouts, onion sets, etc., will need two or three 
inches of leaves, straw, or marsh hay, as a protec¬ 
tion during winter, in all but very mild localities. 
Cold Frames .—Novices are more apt to injure 
the cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce plants win¬ 
tered in these by keeping them too warm than by 
too much cold. The object of the frames is, not 
only to prevent too severe freezing, but all growth, 
and to keep the plants in a perfectly quiet or dor¬ 
mant state. The sashes should not be put on un¬ 
til really freezing weather, and on mild days must 
be tilted, to allow ventilation. 
Flower Garden and S,awn. 
The principal work here is in preparing for winter 
quarters. The lawn should not have been mown 
too late, in order that it may have a protecting coat 
of grass over the roots. If thoroughly composted 
manure, sure to be free from weed seeds, is availa¬ 
ble, a liberal dressing of it this fall will show its 
good effects in the spring. In the absence of such 
manure, it is safer to use ashes, nitrate of soda, 
bone dust, and other safe fertilizers. 
Bulbs Tender and Hardy .—The finer kinds of Glad¬ 
iolus, Tiger Flowers, Tuberoses, etc., must be 
taken up before the ground freezes, and if any of 
the Holland bulbs are still unplanted, the sooner 
they are in the ground the better. 
Evergreens for Winter Effect .—Several years ago 
we advised potting a variety of the low-growing 
evergreens, to be kept in reserve until late autumn, 
when they could be grouped in the beds formerly 
occupied by perishable plants. A bed of such 
evergreens, in view of the sitting-room windows, 
is a most pleasing object during winter. 
Grceiihoiisc and Wiudow 1'Iants. 
Plants taken up from the open ground should 
have the transition to the confined air of the 
green-house or dwelling made as gradual as possi¬ 
ble. Placing them at first in a room without 
fire, will prevent the sudden change. 
Plants to be Forced .—A number of hardy shrubs 
and other hardy plants may be forced, and make 
desirable ornaments to the windows or green-house. 
Weigelas, Forsythia, and Deutzia gracilis, if grown 
small for the purpose, are excellent shrubs, and 
the Bleeding Heart ( Dicentra) and the perennial 
Candytufts are good herbaceous plants for the pur¬ 
pose. After potting, they should have a rest of 
several weeks, in a frame or cool cellar, before they 
are brought to the heat. 
Bulbs in Pots .—While Hyacinths, Narcissuses, 
and other bulbs may be grown in sand, saw-dust, 
moss, and other substances that will hold water, as 
well as in glasses of water, the bloom is never so 
satisfactory as when planted in pots of good soil. 
The best success is only attained when the pots 
are kept in the dark until an abundant growth of 
roots is formed. They may then be brought to the 
window or green-house in succession. 
Climbers .—These add greatly to the beauty of the 
window-garden as well as of the green-house. 
Among the rapid growers is the so-called German 
or Parlor Ivy, and the Tropaeolums. The European 
Ivy, though slow growing, is useful in the window. 
Insects.- —If the attack upon these is commenced 
before they appear to be troublesome, they may be 
easily kept in subjection. A stiff brush alone will 
do much on hard-wooded plants. Strong soap¬ 
suds or tobacco-water will kill the majority. 
