1874.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
443 
Newly calved cows should be guarded against 
cold, and their drink should be slightly warm. 
Sheep .—Irregular feeding will show in the wool. 
Every time the sheep falls otf in condition, there 
’Will be a weak spot in the fiber, and the wool will 
snap there when stretched. Wool buyers don’t 
neglect to look for this, and the wool loses 5 or 6 
cents a pound in value, where they find it. Regu¬ 
larity in poor feeding, is not so bad as good and 
bad feeding alternately. The sheep do nc 'uffer 
so much. Half a pint of grain a day will At 39 
sheep in good condition, with good straw or sweet 
corn-fodder. A little sulphur in the salt is a pre¬ 
ventive of “ stretches,” which is simply indigestion. 
Corn-fodder .— When carefully cured, corn-fod¬ 
der is by many regarded next in value to hay. 
To throw' it in bundles into the yard, to be picked 
over and trampled under foot, is wasteful, and it 
is a nuisance when the manure is to be moved in 
the spring. When cut in a fodder cutter, a bushel 
of it mixed with meal, (I to 3 quarts), makes an 
ample feed for a horse or cow. Stock may be kept 
in good condition with no other fodder through the 
whole winter, with great economy. 
Fattening Animals .—There is a point beyond 
which it does not pay to feed either hogs, sheep, 
or beeves. When they fall off in their feed, feed 
is wasted. As long as young animals will eat well, 
it may pay to keep them. But full growm animals 
when fully fat, will eat and eat and keep stationary. 
It is well to keep a watchful eye upon such. 
Ditches .—Wherever water stands upon wheat or 
rye fields, furrows or ditches should be made to let 
it off. Drains should be made or looked to before 
the ground freezes up. 
Pasturing Grain .—As a rule, too much of this is 
done. But where the wheat or rye is very thrifty, 
a few sheep may be allowed to run over the fields 
without injury. Where the grain is heaved with the 
frost, coming soon after a rain, a flock of sheep will 
trample thousands of the plants into the soil again. 
Manure may be hauled at any time, but it should 
usually be spread as it is hauled, and not left in heaps. 
Work in the Horticultural Departments, 
With this month the out-door work is practically 
closed. An unusually mild season may prolong it 
a few days, or an open spell allow something to be 
.done to facilitate spring work, but for the most 
part, the horticulturist may leave his orchards and 
his beds, and turn his thoughts towards another 
year. Those who have read the Ogden Farm 
Papers regularly, will recollect the account of an 
ignorant chap, who was fleecing farmers out of 
handsome fees by tasting their soil, and telling 
them’ how to improve it. The desire to improve, 
to make their soil more productive, on the part of 
the farmers, made the work of this plausible quack 
an easy one. If the writer of this should go 
among orchardists, market gardeners, or florists, 
and tell them that for $1, $1.50, or some such sum, 
he could show them how to make or save $10, $30, 
or more, he would, no doubt, find a large number 
to invest. He does that here , and charges nothing. 
His secret is, buy one book relating to your 
specialty, and study it. The editorial correspon¬ 
dence of the paper all comes under the writer’s 
eye, and he is quite sure, from the questions asked, 
that not one in ten, who are trying to make money 
by growing fruits of various kinds, by vegetables, 
or by flowers, have a modern work upon their 
branch of horticulture. We do not write this 
because the publishers of the paper also publish 
books, but should say the same in any case. We 
are glad to answer questions in cases of particular 
difficulty, but can not write treatises. Nothing is 
more common than for us to receive a letter, 
.asking us to tell “ all about ” this or that, which 
could not be told did we give the whole paper to 
it. Every year there come questions about prun¬ 
ing trees and vines, about budding and grafting, 
.about cuttings and layers, which if answered as 
they come, would make it necessary to reprint the 
same matter year after year. We can understand 
how this happens ; hundreds, if not thousands, who 
have never taken a similar paper before, have a 
new field opened to them. They read that trees 
are grafted, and that vines are pruned, and raised 
from cuttings, and that there are many other horti¬ 
cultural operations they would like to know about. 
These things, while matters of course to many, 
are to these novices entirely unknown, and they 
wish to learn about them. Now a paper like the 
Agriculturist -, can not keep repeating these funda¬ 
mental matters, teaching A B C’s, so to speak, to 
the minority, but must give agricultural and hor¬ 
ticultural news, record progress, and show meth¬ 
ods wffiA. presuppose a knowledge of first princi¬ 
ples. Those of our readers who take a political 
paper, do not expect that it will give the Declara¬ 
tion of Independence, or the Constitution of the 
United States, in each issue; and their religous 
paper goes upon the be± ef that its readers know 
something of the Ten Commandments, The Sermon 
on the Mount, and other essential parts of the Bible. 
So we must assume that our readers know the 
simple operations of horticulture. The publishers 
have taken pains to procure the best general and 
special works in all departments of agriculture and 
horticulture. But “the cost”—that is the oefiee- 
tion. We have cited the instance of the successtn 1 
quack; with such fellows farmers do not find it 
difficult to pay the money, because they impudent¬ 
ly promise much. We can not raise high hopes, 
and tell our readers that by buying such or such a 
book, they will make $50, $100, or more, but we 
have not the least doubt that any standard work to 
any farmer or gardener, will ultimately be worth 
these sums. It comes in our way to read all books 
upon rural matters that are published, and we have 
rarely met with one which, however crude and 
poor as a whole, did not have some suggestion or 
idea in it, that was worth the price of the book. 
Now when we come to the best books on horticul¬ 
ture, we are very sure that they are worth many 
times more than they cost. In fact, any one 
engaged in any horticultural pursuit for the pur¬ 
pose of profit, cannot afford to do without the best 
thoughts, the costly experience of men who have 
devoted their lives to, and have been successful in 
these very branches. It is as much a necessary 
part of the outfit, especially of a beginner, as 
trees, plants, seeds, implements, or manures; 
indeed, all these are comparatively worthless with¬ 
out the necessary knowledge to use them. We 
hold it to be quite impossible for one to intelligent¬ 
ly start, and carry on to profitable results an 
orchard or fruit garden, without some such work 
as Barry’s, Fuller’s, or Thomas’s; if he would 
make a vineyard, he must consult Fuller or IIus- 
mann ; he can not know how to raise vegetables 
profitably, unless he is familiar with Henderson, 
Brill, and Quinn ; and does he propose to raise 
florists’ plants, or cut flowers, Henderson’s Practical 
Floriculture, is of as much importance to him as a 
greenhouse. These are only some of the leading 
works; there are others, general and special, 
which with these, will be found in the book list in 
the back part of the paper. But books are of no 
use unless studied, and now is the time to study. 
Get the boys interested in them too. If you wish 
to graft, and do not know how, get Barry, or 
Thomas, and practice the various kinds of grafting, 
on fresh cut, useless limbs ; let the hoys try now. 
and then give them a chance in the spring. A few 
good books upon fruits, will do more than any¬ 
thing else to keep boys interested in the farm, and 
contented to stay there. Read, study, and when 
you find something not provided for in the books, 
we will try to help you, but we can not continually 
teach the simplest operations of horticulture. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Trees , especially young ones, need looking after, 
to prevent injury by rabbits and mice. Fences and 
gates should be repaired and closed, to prevent 
cattle from entering and destroying the trees. 
When light snows fall, tread down around the trees 
to keep away mice. A mound of earth around the 
trees is useful for this purpose, as well as to keep 
newly set trees in place during high winds. 
Rabbits are best kept from injuring trees, by 
sprinkling blood on the trunk. A wash of cow 
dung, sulphur, and loam, is reported as useful. 
Pruning may be done during mild days, but for 
larger limbs it will be better to wait until towards 
spring. Cover large wounds with gum-shellae 
varnish, melted grafting wax, or paint. 
Cions .—Cut when the trees are not frozen, tie in 
small bundles, and store in saw-dust in the cellar. 
Earth will keep them from drying equally well, but 
saw-dust leaves no grit to dull the knife. 
Drains for surface water should be provided ; a 
young orchard is often severely injured by lack of 
care in this matter. 
Root-Grafting .—Stocks should have been taken 
up before freezing weather. If not done, make 
use of the first open spell. Store in earth in the 
cellar, where they will be accessible for grafting 
during the winter. 
Seeds of stone fruits should be buried at once, 
if not already done. Place small quantities in 
boxes of earth and set where they will freeze. 
Fruit Ciartteaa# 
Raspberries. —If not already done, bend down 
and cover the earns of the tender varieties, ix the 
ground is still open. 
Grape-vines should have been pruned last month, 
but advantage may be taken of the mild weather 
of this. In Northern localities, young vines, even 
of hardy sorts, will fruit better if they are laid 
down and covered. 
Strawberry Beds should be given their covering of 
leaves or straw, just before the ground freezes. 
Two or three inches is sufficient, as the object is to 
protect the plants from sudden changes of tem¬ 
perature, rather than to exclude frost. 
Wood for rustic work, may be cut and prepared 
for use next season. With a little skill in arrange¬ 
ment, many ornamental articles may be made for 
the flower garden and lawn. Posts and stakes 
should also be prepared; locust, red cedar, and 
chestnut, are all good, the first two sorts remaining 
sound for many years. All wood for posts ought 
to be seasoned undercover if possible, and so piled 
up that there will be a free circulation of air 
around and through the pile. 
Spade up all ground between rows of fruit trees, 
and apply well rotted manure. 
Kitchen Garden. 
But little can be done here, except to look after 
the frames and pits, and care for seeds, etc. 
Cold-frames .—Do not cover until freezing weather 
comes, and even then air should be given during 
the middle of every mild clay. 
Roots .—If plenty of marsh hay or leaves are at 
hand, it is well to cover a quantity of parsnips and 
salsify, so that they can be dug from time to time 
as wanted ; they are much better than poorly kept 
ones. To keep roots properly in the cellar, they 
should be stored in earth, and if the house cellar is 
used, secure ample ventilation. 
Spinach .—It is better to cover with leaves all 
beds which are to be left for next spring’s use, ex¬ 
cept where the winters are mild. 
Bean-poles should be properly cared for under 
cover. When sheltered they will last for several 
seasons, and if of oak, walnut, or red cedar, they 
will easily last for a dozen years. Pea-br»eh 
usually has to be renewed every season. 
Rubbish .—If there is no snow on the ground, all 
weeds, brush, and rubbish in general, may be 
cleared up and burned, and the ashes spread or 
saved until next spring. 
Seeds .—Thrash out and clean all seeds that re¬ 
main uncared for, and label with date and name of 
variety. Keep in a cool place where there is no 
danger from mice. 
Trenches or I’itS, where roots are stored, will not 
need covering until freezing weather comes, and 
then only^vAually, just enough to keep out frAst. 
