1868.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
243 
the best grass; they do much better for it, and it 
costs less to lit them for market. Be sure that 
there is no lack of water, and it is best to keep 
salt where all the stock can always get at it. 
Weeds. —Maintain constant warfare; cut those in 
blossom, whenever seen, and throw them into the 
hog pen. Any that go to seed should be burned. 
Irrigation. —This subject is constantly exciting 
more interest. It is especially valuable for the 
production of grass, though its application is by 
no means limited to forage plants. The great value 
of the hay crop naturally leads us to wish to 
double it. Wherever an opportunity occurs, turn a 
gentle stream of water upon fresh-mown grass 
land, and so distribute it that it shall trickle over 
as wide a surface as possible. Let it stay on a day 
or two at a time, and report the result. 
Drainage.- —The importance of drainage is only 
imperfectly understood. It is the best agency we 
can employ as a protection against protracted 
droughts. Those especially interested should read 
Draining for Profit, or that epitome of the subject 
in the American Agricultural Annual for 1867. 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
On a cold, wet day in June, it is not easy to write 
notes for July. The poor little boy in one of 
Reade’s stories says': “Father, there wasn’t any 
breakfast for breakfast.” Thus far we have not 
had any June for June, but trusting that it will 
come out all right—as it always does—we make 
our notes usual for July in the full faith that 
warm and sunny days are in store for us. 
Orcliavtl and Nursery. 
Thinning is so much neglected, and yet so im¬ 
portant, that we must, at the risk of repetition, 
often insist upon it. If one has any doubts upon 
the subject, let him take two trees of the same 
variety of peach or pear, and from one remove half 
or three-fourths of the crop, and upon the other 
let all the fruit grow. When the fruit is ripe, 
market the crop of each tree, keeping a correct ac¬ 
count of all the expenses, and see which tree has 
paid the most. One bushel of good fruit will 
bring more than three bushels of poor. 
Peaches should be handled with care; pick just 
before they soften, so that they will reach market 
in good order. Crates are better than baskets. 
Cherries. —When these—as is often the case—are 
“picked on shares,” watch the pickers, who often 
do much damage. Allow no person with heavy 
boots to go into the trees, and if a picker picks 
fruit-spurs as well as fruit, make him stop his work. 
Budding will commence with the plum and 
cherry, according to the season. Some hints upon 
the subject are given on a subsequent page. 
Pruning is to be continued, and on young trees 
superfluous growths are to be rubbed off. • 
Insects are always to be fought. Sufficient di¬ 
rections for fighting them were given last month. 
Black Knot on plum and cherry is to be cut out 
on its first appearance. 
Cultivate young orchards as directed last month. 
Mulch around young trees, if this treatment is 
preferred to cultivation. 
Cherry Stones are to be collected, and mixed 
with a plenty of sand before they dry up. 
Fruit darden. 
Picking and Marketing of fruits was sufficiently 
discussed last month on page 224. Fruit sent to 
market must be picked in a “firmer” condition 
than that intended for home use. That which is 
to be used in the family may get “ dead ripe ” be¬ 
fore it is gathered, and then it is improved by be¬ 
ing cooled in the ice-box before it is eaten. 
Blackberries are to be kept in check ; pinch back 
the side shoots to 18 inches, and keep the whole 
growth compact and within control. The pinching 
should be attended to at least every two weeks. 
Paspbcrries. —In garden culture it is best to prune 
out the old canes as soon as the fruit is off. Treat 
all suckers not needed for new plants like weeds. 
Currants. —If a late brood of the worm appears, 
give a dusting of white hellebore. By shading a 
number of bushes, the season of this excellent, but 
much neglected fruit may be much prolonged. 
Straioberries may be transplanted now, and the 
plants become sufficiently well established to give 
a crop next season. 
Dwarf Trees in the fruit garden will need all the 
care with regard to insects mentioned for those in 
the orchard. Thinning is particularly recommend¬ 
ed, especially with those pears that bear fruit in 
clusters. If the red spider appears upon pear trees, 
drench them with strong soapsuds. 
Grape Vines will now need constant care. See 
what has been said upon summer treatment in the 
articles on the vine in this and previous numbers. 
Kitchen (warden. 
Asparagus. — Give a dressing of manure and 
let it grow. Fertilizing will do now better than at 
any other time. If the beetle appears, cut and 
burn. It is a quite small black beetle and a black 
grub. There is no help short of extermination. 
Beans. —Plant bush sorts for succession,and pinch 
the Limas when they are six or seven feet high. 
Beets. —Thin, and use the thinnings for “greens.” 
A crop may be sown even at this late day. 
Cabbages , Cauliflowers , and the related plants 
which have been sown in an open ground seed-bed, 
are to be transplanted. Keep well cultivated. 
Celery. —Set the plants for the main crop in rows 
three feet apart, and the plants six inches distant. 
Plants set in trenches are to be gradually earthed up. 
Carrots. —Work between the rows until the size 
of the leaves prevents it. 
Corn.— Put in a plenty for late use and to dry. 
Kgg Plant. —Manure, hoe, and coax in every pos¬ 
sible manner. Do not let the fruit remain long in 
contact with the ground, or it will rot. A little 
straw or a shingle may be put under it. 
Endive. —Sow and treat just like lettuce—only 
before it can be eaten it must be blanched either 
by tying up each plant separately, or placing a 
board over a whole row, to exclude the light. 
Herbs. —Transplant from seed-bed to ground va¬ 
cated by other plants, and keep well cultivated. 
Our market growers make two or three cuttings. 
Melons. —Remove all the fruit that will notripen. 
Onions .-—Keep free from weeds. 
Peas. —Late sorts are sure to mildew. If a late 
sowing is tried, it is only as a venture. 
Seeds. —If you have not the courage to save the 
best and earliest peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc., 
for seed, don’t save seed at all. But if you would 
get better vegetables every year, save the earliest. 
Sweet Potatoes. —At the North it is not advisable 
to allow the vines to root. Keep free from weeds. 
Squashes. —Hand-picking is the only remedy we 
know of for the Squash-bug. Let the vines of 
the running sorts take root at the joints. 
Tomatoes in some gardens are trained to trellises, 
but brush or anything that will keep the fruit from 
the ground is used in ordinary culture. 
Weeds are always to be fought, and there is noth¬ 
ing better than a sharp steel rake with long teeth, 
and a good man at the end of the handle. 
Flower Garden and Lawn. 
Lawns need frequent cutting and rolling. When¬ 
ever perennial weeds appear, such as thistles, plan¬ 
tains, dandelions, etc., take them out while young. 
Keep the margins neatly cut, whether along a 
walk or road, or those of a bed cut in the lawn. 
What a carpet is to a parlor, a well-kept turf is to 
a place, large or small; it sets off everything else. 
Neatness in all parts of the grounds is to be pre¬ 
served by constant attention; see article on sticks, 
strings and wires, page 261. Daily care is needed. 
As soon as plants have passed out of flower, cut 
away the flower stems, unless seeds are needed. 
Climbers will need attention; those upon build¬ 
ings should not be allowed to twine around water 
conductors. See that they are properly supported, 
so that a heavy wind will not bring them down. 
Bulbs. —The early blooming sorts, such as hya¬ 
cinths and tulips, will now begin to ripen. As soon 
as the foliage begins to show by its wilting that the 
bulbs are maturing, take them up and lay them 
on their sides in a shady place until the foliage 
dries up ; then store the bulbs until time to plant. 
Lilies. —The Japan sorts are apt to be troubled by 
a worm, and need frequent inspection; keep well 
tied to stakes, to prevent breaking by winds. 
Foliage Plants , like Coleus, should be made to 
grow bushy by cutting back. Where there are two 
or more colors, keep them from running together. 
Annuals. —Quick growing ones may still be sown 
for a late bloom. Transplant the earlier sown ones. 
Dahlias should now be making a good growth ; 
keep well tied up, and water in dry weather. 
Poses. —Give the new growth of climbing roses 
care in training. Use cresylic soap or some other 
insect-killing compound as soon as insects appear. 
Perennials. —Sow* in a reserve bed as soon as they 
ripen, and they will make plants for next year. 
Green and Moi-BIonses. 
The plants left in the houses, even the tropical 
ones, must be shaded from our hot summer suns. 
The common custom is to wash the outside of the 
glass with common whitewash, or a mixture of 
whiting and glue water. Some use muslin screens. 
Proper attention must be given to Watering, and 
insects carefully looked after. Green-house plants 
out of doors must not be neglected. They will 
often be blown over. Camellias and all broad¬ 
leaved evergreens must be shaded. Make all re¬ 
pairs the houses need, and put up new structures. 
Fold Grapery. 
The outside borders should be mulched, and weak 
liquid manure given. The shoots should have al¬ 
ready been shortened to the third leaf from the last 
bunch. The temperature of the house should not 
exceed 90° to 95° at midday, and fall to 85° at night. 
Thinning the fruit on the bunches is now r an im¬ 
portant matter." Use the slender scissors made for 
the purpose. One-half, or more, according to the 
variety, is to be removed. At the first appearance 
of mildew, make the air of the house as dry as 
possible, and sprinkle sulphur abundantly. 
Darwin on Site Variation, oi’ Ani¬ 
mals aiul Plants under Domestication.— 
Probably no work ever published in this country met 
with a more cordial appreciation. We published it, 
not as endorsing Mr. Darwin’s views, but to give tho 
opinion of so eminent a naturalist to the American public 
in an accessible form. The notices the work has had 
have been most favorable, even those journals v'ho are 
opposed to Mr. Darwin’s views giving praise to this re¬ 
markable record of facts. As a specimen of the reviews 
U'e give the following from the N. Y. Horticulturist: 
“ Written in admirable English, using no scientific terms 
but such as are comprehensible to men of fair education, 
lucidly arranged, and indexed with scrupulous care, there 
is not an agriculturist or horticulturist in the country who 
has any taste for the history or theory of his calling hut 
will peruse it with pleasure and profit, and find it diffi¬ 
cult to say whether lie values it more as a storehouse of 
facts or as an incitement to observe and to think. Let 
the reader he of the learned professions, or a child or 
novice in all that pertains to natural history, lie will 
find in this hook food for thought and instruction, knowl¬ 
edge of animal and vegetable life, their origin and per¬ 
petuation in a healthy or unhealthy condition, and so 
mingled with anecdotes, observations, and originality, 
that its study will he a pleasure to every intelligent mind. 
The work is finely illustrated, and published in two 
volumes of over 500 pages each. Price, $0, post-paid.” 
Fowls E£oos4iBi"' oat tlae Aest ISoxes. 
—W. C. Brown of Sing Sing, N. Y., prevents this by fix¬ 
ing common telegraph wire about an inch above the edges 
of the nest boxes, and finds it perfectly effectual, 
while the hens will readily cross the wire to lay. 
