1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
223 
never, or rarely, come up the first year after 
planting. The seeds, after being separated from 
the fruit or “ haws ”—which is done by bruising 
and washing—are “ stratified,” i. e., mixed with 
an abundance of earth and placed in a heap, 
covered with several inches of earth. In this 
situation the seeds are exposed to the action of 
frost during the winter, and are kept moist all 
summer, and if sown on the second spring will 
germinate freely. 
The objections to Hawthorn as a hedge-plant 
are that it has a slow growth, it comes in leaf 
too late, and drops its foliage too early. In our 
hot summers it soon assumes a dull, half-dead, 
and unsightly appearance; and, more serious 
than all, it is liable to the attacks of a great 
number of insects. These objections ap¬ 
ply in a greater or less degree to our native 
thorns, though some of these do much better 
than the Hawthorn. The best of our Northern 
species is the Cockspur Thorn, Crataegus Crus- 
galli ; the Pyracantli Thorn is a fine evergreen 
hedge-plant in the warmer States, and its white- 
fruited variety has been considered perfectly 
hardy at the North before the past winter. We 
do not know how it has fared elsewhere, but our 
specimens have all the leaves destroyed, and 
the plant, the first week in May, shows no signs 
of life. We can not recommend our readers to 
use any of the thorns for hedges except by way 
of experiment. Our tw r o reliable hedge-plants 
as yet are the Osage Orange, and, where that is 
not hard}', the Honey Locust. 
Apple-Worm Traps. 
“ Old Apple-Jack ” is disposed to ridicule Mr. 
Wier for patenting so simple a thing as his 
apple-worm trap. It puzzles us to see how a 
pomologist and nurseryman, whose whole busi¬ 
ness depends upon unpatented processes which 
have been freely contributed to the general stock 
of knowledge by generations of disinterested 
workers, could patent such a thing. But people 
look at things from different points of view ; and 
though no one doubts Mr.Wier’s right to patent 
this contrivance, all the money he will re¬ 
ceive from it will not be an offset to the credit 
that would have been accorded him had he 
offered it as his contribution to the cause of 
pomology. Our correspondent, “ O. A. J.,” 
thinks he has a contrivance which in his opin¬ 
ion is much superior to that proposed by Mr. 
Wier, and he thinks he would like to see any¬ 
body patent it. He uses strips of sailcloth, a 
foot in width, and long enough to encircle the 
tree; to these he fastens two buckles at one end 
and two straps at the other. Two or three of 
these are made for each tree. One is buckled 
tightly around the tree; over this number two 
is put, with five or six small twigs between it 
and number one; then number three is put on 
with some more small sticks and buckled tightly 
over number two. It will be seen that this 
leaves all around the tree a number of enticing 
crevices or recesses into which the worm can 
craAvl to make its chrysalis. The bands are 
readily taken off and the captives destroyed. 
Transplanting' Beets and Turnips. 
BY GEORGE F„ WARING, JR., OGDEN FARM. 
The lateness of this season will have crowded 
together all manner of farm work, and will in 
many cases have induced the planting of smaller 
fields of mangold-wurzel than would have been 
planted under more favorable circumstances. 
It may not yet be too late to remedy the defect 
in many cases. Where the seed has been sown 
in the usual way, there will be at least five times 
as many plants as can be allowed to grow. 
Every one of the extra plants may be made use¬ 
ful by being transplanted into well-prepared 
rich land, and a goed crop may be obtained if 
the transplanting is postponed even until after 
an early hay harvest, though, as all transplant¬ 
ing is the most successful when" done in damp 
or wet weather, odd half-days may be devoted 
to the work in the intervals of haying. The 
land in which the plants are to be set should be 
thoroughly fine, thoroughly clean, and thor¬ 
oughly manured. When the plants are from 
3 /i of an inch to one inch in diameter they may 
be drawn from the seed-bed, trimmed of their 
upper leaves and tap-roots, and set out at inter¬ 
vals of 2} ft. by lj ft. Their subsequent culti¬ 
vation is the same as though they had grown 
from the seed where they stand. Full directions 
for transplanting were given in the Ogden Farm 
Papers last year, and last month on page 184. 
This will not be quite so satisfactory as though 
the plants had been raised expressly for the pur¬ 
pose of transplanting, and the preparation of the 
land systematically commenced earlier in the 
season, but it opens the way for many an over¬ 
driven farmer to increase a crop which he has 
been prevented from planting as largely as usual. 
It is still early enough to start a seed-bed of 
ruta-baga turnips to be transplanted about the 
middle of July, and after ample experience and 
observation in the matter, we do not hesitate to 
recommend such a course to all who desire to 
raise this crop, assuring them that they will 
find the result better and the labor of cultiva¬ 
tion very much less than in the ordinary plan 
of planting the seed on the ground where the 
crop is to stand. 
Chrysanthemums. 
Chrysanthemums are generally allowed to 
have their own way, and are treated like other 
herbaceous perennials. Most of them are hardy, 
and when the clumps get too large, they are 
divided with a spade. All the care they get in 
most gardens is a stake, to prevent them from 
being blown about by the autumn winds. This 
rude treatment answers very well where the 
effect of color is all that is desired, and no re¬ 
gard is had to the shape of the plants or the 
perfection of the individual flowers. Towards 
autumn some of the smaller roots are taken up, 
and potted for blooming in the house. They 
bloom, it is true, but the plants are sorry-look- 
ing objects—a cluster of long, leafless stems, with 
a few bright-colored but half-developed flowers 
at the top. The only way to have a satisfactory 
show of chrysanthemums in the house—and 
nothing can be more cheery—is to begin now 
with young plants. Those grown from cuttings 
this spring, and consisting of a single stem, are 
the most suitable. These can be kept in pots 
from the beginning, but it is less trouble to grow 
them in the border until the buds are set, and 
then pot them. Having a plant with a single 
stem, its growth can be readily controlled by 
pinching. When the top or growing point is 
stopped by pinching, branches are developed in 
the axils of the leaves below, and these branches 
themselves can be induced to branch by pinching 
their extremities. With a little care a handsome 
bushy form can be produced, which, when cov¬ 
ered with flowers, presents a striking contrast 
to the ragged things we usually see. The first 
point is, to get a good, strong, healthy plant to 
operate upon, keep its foliage free from plant- 
lice and caterpillars, and when it has readied 
the desired higlit, the stopping may be com¬ 
menced. The Pompone or small-flowered sorts 
are very satisfactory when grown in this man¬ 
ner. We hope to return to the subject again. 
■ ■ - a < - 
Prospects of Cranberry Culture. 
Shall we, who have suitable lands, continue 
to plant cranberry vines ? This question is often 
asked by intelligent men who have good cran¬ 
berry lands, and know that large sums have 
been invested in plantations the last five years. 
Some tell us that the season of high prices has 
gone by, and the business is over-done. In the 
Philadelphia market reports in February, 1868, 
they were quoted at $24 per barrel, and in 1869 
at $32. In New York some were sold at $35. 
It is probably true that this fruit may not reach 
these extreme figures again, but we see no reason 
to doubt that the raising of cranberries will 
continue to be always a paying business. The 
same fears were felt in regard to planting 
apple orchards, many years ago. Yet the 
average price of good winter apples is not dimin¬ 
ished but rather increased. The demand out¬ 
strips the supply, and the orchard in all those 
districts where the apple flourishes, is one of 
the most lucrative branches of farming. The 
culture of cranberries is yet in its infancy. In 
1869 the production for the whole country was 
estimated at 75,000 bbls., of which two thirds 
were produced in New Jersey. These, at ten dol¬ 
lars a barrel, would only be worth three quarters 
of a million of dollars, and if distributed among 
the people would give less than a quart to each 
family. This certainly can not be regarded as 
an adequate supply of the fruit. It might be 
increased thirty-fold, and still not give a bushel 
to each family of our own people. But the mar¬ 
ket is by no means confined to this country. 
The fruit keeps much better than apples, and 
can be shipped on sea voyages round the world. 
Europe has nothing to compare with our fruit 
in quality, and large quantities are marketed 
there. The consumption of this fruit in our 
own country is rapidly increasing and is likely 
to increase. In many families it has ceased to 
be a luxury. It is as much a part of the winter 
supplies as apples or potatoes. No roast is com¬ 
plete without cranberry sauce. It is one of the 
most palatable and wholesome of our native 
fruits, and is likely to maintain its place in any 
thrifty family where it has once been introduced. 
In looking at this question, we are to consider 
that there is but a very small portion of the 
land that is adapted to its cultivation. It de¬ 
mands as the conditions of uniform success 
peat, sand or gravel, and water for flowage, in 
juxtaposition, and these are rarely met with. 
There is peat enough, but it is not near the sand ; 
or, if the sand or gravel is convenient, it is 
not where it can be flowed on short notice. Then 
climate has a good deal to do with success. The 
fruit is exceedingly sensitive to frosts, and grows 
best in lands liable to early frosts. The best 
region for the cranberry is a narrow belt along 
the sea-sliore from Cape Cod to the mouth of 
the Delaware. Here the sea breeze keeps off the 
frosts, and the crops mature with great uniform¬ 
ity upon tracts that can not be flowed, except in 
winter. It is this exemption from frosts mainly 
that makes the plantations on Cape Cod and in 
South Jersey so profitable. More than three 
fourths of all the cultivated cranberries in this 
country are grown on this very narrow belt, and 
there is no doubt they can be grown cheaper here 
