564 
AMEBIC AN AGBIC U LTUBIST. 
[December 
soil was so wet and muddy in the previous season, 
that the beet seed rotted and had to be planted 
three times, and after that many gaps were filled 
with turnips. It was a very poor crop. In the past 
season the beet seed came up fairly, the few va¬ 
cant places were filled by transplanting, and a fine 
crop of mangolds and sugar beets was gathered, 
at much less cost of labor. This is very conclusive 
proof of the advantage of draining. It raises the 
temperature of the soil so that seeds will vegetate 
two or three weeks earlier in the spring, and it re¬ 
tains the summer heat so that damaging frosts are 
kept off several weeks in the autumn. Draining is 
of special service in raising of all crops of tropical 
origin, as squashes, melons, tomatoes, egg plant, 
peppers, corn, etc. It is the effectual cure of wet 
land in all climates, and indispensable to the profit¬ 
able cultivation of all swamps and spongy land in 
the northern portions of our country. It will add 
from four to six weeks to the length of the grow¬ 
ing season, for many of the crops grown in the 
market garden and upon the farm. Capital in¬ 
vested in tile draining is admitted to be among the 
safest and best investments the farmer can make. 
The Quince Borer. 
The Two-striped SaperdafSapmfa bivittati) bores 
into the wood in its larval state, often cutting large 
trees so nearly off, that they fall to the ground, 
while the perfect beetle eats only the leaves, among 
which it hides during the day. This insect is about 
three-fourths inch in length, with long, slender 
antennse. The perfect beetle is marked by two 
white stripes along the back, alternating with three 
of a light-brown. The face, antennae, under side of 
the body, and legs are white. The perfect insect 
emerges from its hole in the trunk at night, and 
flies from tree to tree, for food or company. It de¬ 
posits its eggs, which are about the size of pin heads, 
in the bark near the roots from June to August. 
The full-grown larva is about an inch long, the 
head segment being nearly one-fourth inch in dia¬ 
meter. It is cylindrical and fleshy, without legs, 
and tapers a little from the first ring back of the 
head, which is small, horny, and brownish, with 
black jaws. The general color is a whitish-yellow. 
The pupa is lighter colored than the larva, and is 
marked on the back with row’s of minute teeth. 
It is in the grub state that the mischief is done ; 
the first summer, the grub only eats through the 
bark and into the sap-wood. The second year it 
bores into the wood, pushing out its chips, by which 
it may be found and traced. The third year it at¬ 
tains its full size, about May or June, when it 
approaches the surface of the tree, where it makes 
a cocoon of its chips, in which it pupates, and from 
which in three weeks it emerges as a beetle, through 
a perfectly round hole, and is ready to pair and de¬ 
posit eggs for more grubs. It prefers the quince, 
but is also found in the trunks of the apple, 
pear, June-berry, liawthorne, and mountain ash. 
There are several methods of preventing the 
beetle from laying its eggs. One is a wrap of petro¬ 
leum paper around the collar of the tree, reaching 
a little above the ground. Trees kept clear of 
weeds and grass at the base, are comparatively 
safe. All alkalies are repulsive to this insect. The 
eggs are destroyed and the laying of more pre¬ 
vented, by washing the tree with potash water, or 
two pounds of whale oil soap and four ounces of 
sulphur stirred in a pailful of water. If already at 
work, the borer should be cut out, using a stout 
knife, or pierced in its hole, with a probe of wire 
or slip of whalebone. There are other methods, 
but the above are sufficient if used in season. 
Bean Vines for Sheep. 
In many localities beans are quite largely grown 
for market. The vines, pods, and leaves, are valu¬ 
able for sheep, though clover hay and a mixture of 
corn and bran is generally considered the best 
winter food for them. For years I have always 
saved the bean vines, and any immature or cracked 
beans, and value them highly. The improved 
condition of the sheep has shown that they relished 
this kind of food. One spring I had “ bad luck ” 
with my early lambs; they were small and puny. 
The mothers were thrifty, having been fed largely 
on bean vines, and there appeared no good reason 
for the lambs being so poor. Some neighboring 
sheep breeders of long experience said that bean 
vines and oat straw should never bo fed to breeding 
ewes. The next winter, having an abundance of 
bean vines, and being somewhat incredulous as to 
the bean advice of my elders, the sheep received 
their daily ration of bean vines during four months. 
The next month, instead of the vines, they had 
clover hay, bran and corn. The lambs were fine 
and hearty. The same winter another pen con¬ 
tained my ewe lambs and some few undersized 
yearlings. My 6tock ram had been kept in this 
yard while some repairs were 
being made elsewhere. All of 
the sheep in this yard during 
the winter were fed wholly upon 
bean vines, supplemented with 
a daily 7 ration of cracked beans. 
They were thrifty and doing 
well, and one cold morning a 
couple of stout little lambs were 
discovered among them, ap¬ 
parently at home. This surprise 
continued from day today until 
one fourth of the young 6heep 
in this pen had lambs. These 
lambs have now become sheep, 
and are as good as any I have ever raised. Save 
the bean vines, your sheep will make good use of 
them. F. R. 
“Farming Does Not Pay.” 
The complaint is frequently made that “ farm¬ 
ing does not pay.” This usually comes from those 
who have farms near towns and villages, where 
the land has greatly risen, if not in value, at least 
in valuation for the purpose of taxation. The 
remedy is, either to move to cheaper lands, or to 
raise those crops which afford larger returns. If 
high-priced lands are devoted to corn, wheat, and 
other ordinary farm crops, it is very likely that 
“farming does not pay,” as the growers of these 
cannot successfully compete with those who cul¬ 
tivate fertile and cheap lands. 
The readiest way in such localities to make farm¬ 
ing pay is to grow more profitable crops. The 
cause of the increased value of lands, a denser 
population, also provides a market for more prof¬ 
itable produce. Every farmer who finds that he 
is making nothing at ordinary farming on such 
lands, should consider the matter of farm garden¬ 
ing, that is the growing of garden crops on a 
larger scale. He may not be able to take up mar¬ 
ket gardening proper, but there is a number of 
crops that he may grow successfully. The mar¬ 
kets of our small cities, and of villages, are most 
scantily supplied with vegetables. Indeed, those 
withiu a few hours by rail or steamers depend upon 
New York City for their supplies of vegetables. 
These should be furnished by the farms of the 
neighborhood. Several years ago we passed some 
days at a hotel on the New Jersey coast, at a place 
from which steamers took their nightly loads of 
truck to New York. Though long lines of wagons 
passed the hotel door, bringing their loads of truck 
to the steamers, the landlord told us that he was 
the two-striped quince boker. — a, Larva; b, Pupa ; e, Beetle. 
obliged to go to the city for his vegetables, and 
perhaps purchased the very ones which the day 
before had passed his hotel. We find everywhere 
this neglect of local markets, which as a rule give 
raisers better returns than do those of large cities, 
and without the trouble of long transportation. 
The farmer can readily raise a large share of the 
garden vegetables in demand in places of moderate 
size. Let the farmer who would undertake to 
raise crops more profitable than the staple farm 
products, begin with those most easily produced, 
and gradually work his way to those which are 
most profitable. In a town where there are fac¬ 
tories employing numbers of foreign workmen, 
cabbages are always in demand, and the earlier 
they are, the better the price they will bring. Most 
farmers grow late cabbages ; to raise early kinds, 
he must either sow the seed in the fall and keep 
the plants through the winter in a cold frame, or 
sow in early spring in a hot-bed and forward the 
plants to be ready to set out when the ground is in 
condition. Either method is out of the usual way 
of farming, but there is nothing about it that can 
not be readily learned. Onions are always in de¬ 
mand ; if the bulbs are bunched and sold while 
two-thirds grown, the crop is a very profitable one. 
Sweet com is as readily raised as field corn, and 
when the ears are oil, the stalks are in excellent 
condition to cure for fodder ; these will pay 7 the 
cost of cultivation, leaving what is received for the 
ears clear profit. Green peas and string beans are 
easily raised, and if pickers are at hand, will pay 
well, as will new potatoes, beets, etc. The crops 
here suggested, with the exception of early cab¬ 
bages, are as easily raised as ordinary farm crops. 
It will he well for those near a local market to 
make a trial of these at first, and gradually in¬ 
crease the list. Farm gardening offers a ready re¬ 
lief to those who find that “farming does not 
pay,” and those who need to grow more profitable 
crops should look into its possibilities. The works 
of Henderson, Harris, Brill, and Quinn, each give 
valuable aid to the cultivator. Success will, in 
part, depend upon locality, supply of manure, 
quality of seed, and the character of the market; 
but the probabilities are greatly in favor of a profit¬ 
able return from a well conducted farm garden. 
Poultry Raising as a Business. 
There is just now much interest in poultry rais¬ 
ing, and a disposition to take it up on a large scale. 
The following extract from one of our recent let¬ 
ters will give an idea of the many inquiries made 
of us: “Is poultry raising a profitable business, 
and w'ould you advise a young man to invest 
one thousand dollars in it ?” — This might be an¬ 
swered, in brief: Poultry are profitable, and we 
would not advise a young man (nor an old one) to 
at once invest one thousand dollars in it. Farmers 
find the poultry yard the most profitable part of 
the farm, in proportion to the capital invested. 
Many reckon in this way : If fifty fowls are profit¬ 
able, five hundred will be ten times as profitable. 
This is an instance in which figures do not tell the 
truth. As soon as the number of fowls is doubled, 
troubles are quadrupled. A range and houses 
which will keep fifty in perfect health, will be over¬ 
crowded with one hundred, and all the troubles due 
to a dense population will follow. While we be¬ 
lieve that poultry keeping on a large scale may be 
made profitable, capital to purchase birds and 
build houses, is not the only thing needful. Those 
who undertake the business, must give their whole 
time and attention to it. One point is well settled 
— fowls can not be kept together in large numbers, 
and thrive. The whole matter requires careful 
study and experiment. The beginner should start 
in a small way, and increase as success seems to 
warrant it. The point to be determined at the out¬ 
set, is: Shall eggs or dressed fowls be the object ? 
Each requires a different management throughout, 
though the two may, in a measure, be united. 
Starting with abundant capital, and no experience, 
will surely end in failure. The best works upon 
poultry management insist upon keeping fowls in 
small flocks ; this is regarded essential to success. 
