1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
4-43 
fences ; manure may be drawn out aud spread on 
the fields ; plaster can be drawn from the mill; 
apple-trees can be pruned and the branches drawn 
off at the time and not left on the ground; grain 
cau be taken to the mill and be ground, not merely 
as it is wanted, but enough for the whole year. 
Draining-tiles may be procured, lumber drawn, 
wood brought to the house and sawn ; straw, hay, 
and corn-stalks may be cut into chaff with a horse¬ 
power machine. In many places hay may be drawn 
to market, and a load of manure brought back with 
profit and advantage. These are only a few things 
that may be done. We are sure that farmers, by a 
little planning in advance, can very generally keep 
nearly all their teams moderately at work all winter. 
Cows. —Where bay is scarce and straw and stalks 
abundant, it will pay well to chaff the latter for 
cows and mix mill-feed and corn-meal with it. 
Keep the cows in a moderately warm, well-venti¬ 
lated stable, clean it out every day, and turn out 
the cows twice a day to water, and let them stay 
out an hour or two when the weather is favorable. 
But avoid letting them get chilled in storms. 
Sheep. —The best way to feed hay to sheep is to 
cut it into chaff by horse-power. It is little trou¬ 
ble to feed, and there is little or no waste. And 
we are not sure that it is not better to cut up straw 
and stalks also, and feed them with a little meal as 
we do cattle. The first point in the management 
of sheep is to provide dry quarters ; 2d, To avoid 
overcrowding; 3d, To litter lightly and regularly 
every day; and 4th, To guard against any fermenta¬ 
tion of the manure under tlie sheep. Give fresh 
water every day, and salt regularly. Feed liberally 
before sundown. Let there be straw or other food 
in the racks for the sheep to eat during the night. 
Swine. —Where corn is worth less than 40 cents 
per bushel it will pay well, even at the present low 
price of pork, to make the hogs fat before selling 
them. Packers want small, fine-boned pigs, but 
they want them well-fattened. Store pigs should be 
kept growing rapidly. The prospects are favorable 
for an advance in pork another year, and farmers, 
especially in the West, should feed their young 
stock liberally. Breeding sows should have as much 
exercise as you can make them take in searching 
for food. But, at the same time, they should be 
able to find as much as they need to keep them in 
vigorous health and good condition. For thorough¬ 
bred sows, which keep easily, and arc apt to get too 
fat, the food should be of a rather bulky nature, 
such as bran, turnips, etc. Sows go sixteen weeks. 
If you have a number of sows, and are short of 
breeding-pens, it will be well to push forward a few 
sows and keep back the others. This can be done 
by giving those you wish served first a little extra 
corn for a week or ten days. Provide dry, well- 
ventilated quarters, and see that they are kept clean 
and well littered. Do not allow young and old pigs 
to run together. The young, growing pigs should 
have all the food they will eat and digest. If they 
are of the right kind, that mature early, they must 
have good food, and plenty of it, while young, or 
they will not be healthy. 
Poultry. —Select out the hens and cocks you in¬ 
tend to keep, and fatten the rest. If you wish eggs in 
winter, provide warm quarters, and feed more or 
less animal food. Keep the hen-house clean, and 
see that the hens do not want for water. 
As Pong as the Ground is not Frozen keep at work 
getting ready for winter. Finish the fall plowing. 
Plow the garden. If you have any large stones to 
draw off, raise them up a few inches now, and put 
a small stone or piece of wood under them to pre¬ 
vent their being frozen to the ground. They can 
then easily be loaded on to a sleigh or stone-boat 
in winter and drawn off easily. Bank up the cellars. 
If potatoes are pitted, and have only one coat of 
straw and earth on them, put on another thin layer 
of straw and cover it with a few inches of earth. 
This is the great secret of keeping out frost. The 
layer of straw between two layers of earth holds 
dead-air, which is the cheapest and best of non¬ 
conductors. Go over the farm during or imme¬ 
diately after a heavy rain with a hoe and spade, and 
see that the water has a chance to flow off freely. 
This is very important, not only for wheat, but for 
land intended to be plowed in spring. 
----—1©1C—-*-•«■- 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
There is seldom a month in which something 
can not be done towards advancing the spring work. 
There are many mild days when things which were 
neglected in the fall can be attended to. There is 
now plenty of time for reading, and no good gar¬ 
dener will fail to provide himself with suitable 
books and papers to employ his mind during the 
long evenings. New horticultural books arc pub¬ 
lished from time to time, upon different subjects, 
most of which contain some items of interest, and 
are worthy of a careful perusal. During mild days, 
rubbish, which often collects around the barn aud 
out-buildings, may be taken away, thus making the 
house and grounds look as if they were properly 
cared for. 
Kitchen Garden. 
Cold-Frames. —Do not close the sashes entirely, 
except at night, and when the weather is above 
freezing remove them entirely. 
Pits in which roots are stored, should not be 
covered until really freezing weather comes, and 
then gradually, just enough to keep out frost. 
Foots fresh from the ground are the best. The 
season of digging may be prolonged by covering 
the beds with litter, to prevent the ground from 
freezing. Store a quantity in dry earth in the cellar, 
to use while those outside are not accessible. 
Spinach , Lettuce, etc., which are to remain in the 
open ground during the winter, should be covered 
with leaves, hay, or other litter. 
Rubbish. —If there is no snow upon the ground, 
the dry weeds, old vines, and everything which will 
prevent the easy working of the plow, may be 
burned, and the ashes saved for use the next season. 
Bean-Poles. —Do not allow these to remain ex¬ 
posed to the weather. With shelter they may be 
made to do service for several seasons. Pea-brush 
seldom lasts more than one season, though occa¬ 
sionally, with care, it will do the second spring. 
Seeds. —Thrash out and clean all that remain, and 
see that each variety is supplied with a proper label 
and date. Keep in a cool room, where mice will 
not trouble them. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Trees. —Young trees need care at this season, 
whether newly set or not, as there is great danger 
from mice and stray cattle. The gates and fences 
should be properly secured, and when a light snow 
falls, it should be firmly trodden down around each 
tree, to keep the mice from gnawing the bark. It 
is a good practice to raise a mound of earth, a foot 
high, around the trunk of newly-set trees, as a sup¬ 
port for them during the high winds, as well as a 
security against mice. 
Rabbits are prevented from injuring the trees by 
sprinkling blood upon them, or wrapping them with 
tarred paper; the former is, however, the best. 
Pruning. —If any pruning is to be done, it is better 
to select mild days during early winter than to 
delay until spring. Where large limbs are removed, 
the wounds should be covered with a varnish of 
gum-shellac, or with melted grafting-wax. 
Cions. —AVhen the trees are not frozen, cions may 
be cut, labeled, tied in small bundles, and stored in 
earth or sawdust. Grafting is a very eas} T method 
of stocking an orchard with good varieties of fruit, 
and the operation has often been explained. 
Water. —Should any water stand upon the surface 
of the orchard, surface drains should be opened. 
Root-Grafting. —This can be done indoors, when 
the weather is too cold to admit of working outside. 
The varieties should be kept separate; place the 
grafted roots in boxes with earth or sand. 
Seeds of stone-fruits must be buried, if not already 
done, in order to expose them to the action of the 
frost. If the quantity is small, they may be buried 
in boxes in the open ground, where they are sub¬ 
jected to alternate thawings and freezings. 
FT-iait Garden. 
Raspberries. —Bend down the canes of the tender 
varieties, and cover with earth before the ground 
freezes. 
Strawberry Beds. —These should receive a covering 
of straw, or bog-hay, or leaves, two or three incites 
thick. A little earth or some brush will be neces¬ 
sary to prevent the leaves from blowing away. Care 
should be used not <^o cover too deeply, as the object 
is to prevent sudden changes of heat and cold, and 
not to prevent freezing. 
Grape-Vines. —These ought to have been pruned 
last month, but advantage may be taken of any mild 
days to prune now. Young vines, whether tender 
or hardy, do best if laid down. 
Wood for trellises and stakes may be prepared 
ready for setting in the spring. Chestnut and locust 
posts are very durable, and are best where it is ne¬ 
cessary to have wood in contact with the ground. 
B ' i w <'e - -44 ;; u-«2 an si 5a cl liUwn. 
Protection. —The same rules apply here for the 
protection of half-hardy shrubs and trees, as given 
for strawberries, etc. Tender roses are best treated 
by laying down and covering with sods. 
Climbers which are not entirely hardy at the North, 
should be taken down from their trellises, and cov¬ 
ered with earth. 
Pits. —Plants kept in pits and frames, must be 
kept dormant, and take care not to keep them too 
wet. Plants stored in the cellar do best when sur¬ 
rounded by dry earth, and kept without water. 
Trellises, etc. — Put all movable wooden trellises 
and seats under cover. Unpainted ones will last 
longer ifagood coat of petroleum is applied to them. 
Evergreens. —Protect the young trees by surround¬ 
ing them with evergreen boughs ; this slight pro¬ 
tection will often save trees which when older will 
prove perfectly hardy. 
<>ii*eeii»lio5!sc and Window Plants. 
Air is one of the necessary elements of success 
in plant-growing, whether in the house or green¬ 
house. Open the ventilators every day when the 
weather is not freezing, opening only those on the 
opposite side from which the wind is blowing. 
Water. —Give only when the plants are dry; if 
watered too much, the soil becomes so thoroughly 
saturated that it is impossible for the roots to grow 
well. Sprinkle or shower the plants as often as 
convenient, except in the coldest weather. 
House Plants usually suffer more from dust and 
a dry atmosphere than from any other cause, and 
the only remedy is to shower often, and to occa¬ 
sionally sponge the foliage of the smooth-leaved 
plants, such as Camellia, Ivy, etc. 
-•»-.—— »«- 
Commercial Matters—Market Prices. 
Gold declined to 111% and advanced to 11414, closing 
November 12th at 113*4 against 113 on the 12th of October. 
.The disease among the horses in this city and 
vicinity has very seriously checked business in the Pro¬ 
duce line, by retarding the forwarding movement. 
Breadstuff's have been less active, and variable as to 
values, but close with some Show of firmness in the in¬ 
stances of Flour, Wheat, Oats, and Barley, which are now 
offered less freely. Corn leaves off easier, on a liberal 
supply. The export inquiry has been less confident. 
Provisions have been generally quoted stronger in price, 
on a good demand, but close less buoyantly. An extra¬ 
ordinarily large sale of Beef, embracing G500 tcs. and 300 
bbls., product of a single Western packing house, was 
reported on the 12th of November.Wool has been 
in more demand and on the advance, closing buoyantly, 
in view of the reported destruction of a large proportion 
of the stock of Domestic in Boston, by the great fire in 
that city.Cotton has been active, but irregular, 
closing weak.Hay, Hemp, and Seeds, quiet, but 
about steady.nops and Tobacco in good demand 
at steadier rates.Apples have been purchased 
with unusual freedom, for export to Liverpool, Glasgow, 
London, and the German ports, and close higher. 
