1868.] 
American agriculturist 
279 
their dams. This must-be done gradually, or there 
will be a marked falling off in flesh. Make up by 
feeding a pint or two of oil-meal, beginning gradu¬ 
ally with it on cut feed, and as gradually withhold¬ 
ing it if you do not desire to continue the feed. 
Sheep .—Wean lambs this month or next, in time 
at least to'allow the ewes to get in good condition 
for wintering. Have a care that the ewes dfj not 
suffer from caked bag when the lambs are removed, 
and examine and milk them if need be for a few days. 
Swine .—Where manure is an object it is hardly 
worth while to begin seriously to fatten hogs before 
corn is nearly ripe. They may be employed in 
working over all sorts of mauurial substances to 
excellent advantage. Feed them well; they will 
work the better and be in good condition to fatten. 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
In these sweltering days of July, at a time when 
the rush of vegetation after a late spring tempts 
one to outdoor rather than indoor work, our notes 
will be rather brief. Two tilings will claim especial 
attention of the horticulturist,—packing and for¬ 
warding his products to market, and insects. Look 
over what has been said in previous months. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
The harvest is already going on with our Southern 
neighbors, who should recollect that the more dis¬ 
tant the market,the more care is required in shipping 
the fruit. Let them recollect that the fruit in large 
cities is sold almost entirely by its looks. An im¬ 
portant point, which we have often insisted upon, is 
Assorting, and* to add force to our remarks on 
this subject we quote from the Proceedings of the 
Am. Pomological Society, where Dr. Claggett, a 
large fruit dealer of St. Louis, said: “ I wish I could 
impress upon fruit growers the importance and 
profit of assorting their fruit. Fruit will not only 
bring better prices if assorted, but depreciation of 
prices will be prevented. Too few shippers assort 
their fruit. Such as do so, get from one-third to onc- 
lialf more than those who do not do so. Full one- 
third of the fruit found in packages had better have 
been given to tiie pigs ** * If one-third of the fruit 
sent to market were left at home, the other two- 
thirds would bring more than the whole does now.” 
Thinning is a way of assorting on the tree, and 
we have often advocated this. What is the use of 
allowing fruit that can never be good for home use, 
or market, to exhaust the energies of the tree? 
Packing does not receive sufficient attention. 
Fruit should be subjected to sufficient pressure to 
prevent b -uising in transportation. One who sees 
how fruit packages arc handled by the railroad and 
steamboat hands will not need to be told of this. 
Picking should always be done by hand. For 
this purpose various kinds of ladders should be in 
readiness to reach all the fruit. In previous volumes 
we have figured several forms of ladders suited to 
the orenard. A common ladder may be so stayed 
with ropes as to answer in the absence of better. 
Insects are still to be fought vigorously. Pick up 
fallen fruit every day and give to the pigs. Later in 
the season the apples may be used to make vinegar. 
Red-spider is not now rare on pear trees, and must 
be fought with soap—soft, whale-oil, or cresylic— 
and water. This insect only revels in hot and dry 
weather. Plant-lice are to be treated to the same 
preparations or to tobacco water. Late broods of 
Tent and other caterpillars are to be exterminated. 
Pudding is in order with all stocks upon which 
the bark will run and where well-developed buds 
can be obtained. If buds are slow in maturing, 
pinch off the ends of the twigs intended to be used 
to supply them. The cherry and plum are the 
earliest budded ; then follow the pear, apple, cherry 
on mahaleb, peach, and quince. If the tyings on 
stocks budded earlier are too tight, loosen them. 
Weeds ,—Keep clear of them. If the ground is 
not occupied by some crop that will benefit the 
trees, allow nothing to grow, but keep the soil nice 
and mellow by frequent use of the cultivator. 
Fire-blight has been much discussed as to its 
cause, but the only treatment yet known is to cut 
away the diseased parts as soon as discovered. 
Black-Knot is to be treated in the same way. 
Fruit Garden. 
The general treatment of trees in the fruit garden 
is hinted at under Orchard. Market or preserve all 
fruit not consumed by the family. Some good 
hints on bottling and otherwise preserving fruit are 
given in the Household Department this month. 
Strawberries will have made good runners. Spring 
and autumn planting each have their advocates. 
Autumn planting suceeds well in all except north¬ 
ern localities. We saw a fine plantation this spring 
that was made the last week in November from 
plants started in pots as noted on page 297. This 
plan is gaining favor among cultivators and nursery¬ 
men ; the principal outlay is for small pots in which 
to strike the runners. One lias only to turn the 
plants out of the pot and is thus almost inde¬ 
pendent of the season. This plan is of easy 
execution, and commended to small cultivators. 
Strawberries for forcing should be started in small 
pots, and when well established are to be later in the 
season transferred to the larger pots in which they 
are to fruit. Triomphe de Gand and Trollope’s 
Victoria are among the best sorts for forcing. 
Blackberries are to be kept within bounds and 
made to throw out more bearing shoots by pinch¬ 
ing as heretofore directed. 
Raspberries .—The best cultivators take out the 
old canes as soon as the fruit is off, though many 
leave the pruning until the time for laying down 
or even until spring. Keep the ground clean by 
means of the cultivat or and hoe,and remove all suck¬ 
ers not needed for canes or for making new plants. 
Experiments .—Be it known that all of our cul¬ 
tivated Blackberries, and many of our Raspberries, 
have been found as wild plants and transferred to 
the garden. Those who wish to experiment with 
these, or with the almost uncultivated huckleberry, 
should mark the wild specimens -of which the fruit 
is of fine quality and transfer them to the garden 
in autumn. A bit of white rag tied to the stem is 
not observable while the leaves are on, but readily 
seen at a distance when the stem is naked. 
Grapes .—The general treatment of the vine has 
been sufficiently given in our series of articles on 
the subject. One should be among his vines daily, 
and give them such tying, pinching, and other treat¬ 
ment, as they need. Do not pass by a caterpillar 
or other injurious insect without destroying it. We 
have long advocated hand-picking as the surest way 
of disposing of many' insects. The Gardener’s 
Monthly sensibly says : “ We have seen instances 
where people have spent an hour in arranging mat¬ 
ters to destroy or drive away insects, by some 
charmed process, when a half an hour of hand-pick¬ 
ing would have destroyed the whole crop.” 
Dwarf Trees will need to have their fruit thinned, 
if not already done. Early fruit is to be picked as 
soon as well developed, and ripened indoors. 
Weeds are to be kept entirely out of the fruit 
garden. Let the soil be clean and mellow wherever 
there is no mulch. Some hand-pulling of weeds will 
be needed among the strawberry and other plants. 
Mulch and Water arc the two helps for newly 
planted trees which suffer from drouth. Either 
cover the ground all around the tree with a thick 
coat of litter, or draw away the earth, give the 
roots a good soaking, and replace the earth. 
Kitchen Garden. 
The garden should now be quite clear of weeds 
and many of the crops have so taken possession of 
the soil that the labor is very much reduced. 
Asparagus .—Keep seedling plants free from weeds, 
and thin them to get strong, well-developed roots. 
Beans of the bush kinds may still be put in to fur¬ 
nish a late crop for stringing or to salt, for winter. 
Cabbages .— Plants may still be set in the Southern 
States. If slugs appear, dust lime over the ground. 
Carrots and all other root crops are to be thinned 
if needed, and the soil kept loose between the rows 
as long as convenient to work them. 
Celery may beset out early this month, and make 
a late crop. Keep the plantings well cultivated. 
Corn .—Save the earliest and finest ears for seed. 
Cucumbers come on rapidly and the vines should 
be picked over every day or two for pickles. 
Egg Plants .—Forward them by the use of liquid 
manure, and mulch to keep the soil moist, and pre¬ 
vent the fruit from resting on the ground. Look out 
for caterpillars, which are very fond of the plants. 
Endive —Transplant a foot.apart each way. When 
the plants are a foot in diameter blanch for use by 
gathering up the outside leaves and tying them by 
their tips over the center of the plant, or by laying 
a board over them. Darkness is what is required. 
The tying or covering should be done when the 
plants are dry. Sow seed for a late crop. 
Melons .—Removing a portion of the later set fruit 
will improve the quality of that remaining. Save 
seed from fine and early specimens which have 
grown at a good distance from other varieties. 
Onions are to be pulled as soon as the tops of a 
majority of the plants fall over. Dry thoroughly 
those that are to be stored for winter. They should 
not be putin largeheaps, butspread thinly in a cool 
and dry place. Take up onion sets and store in a 
similar place, spread in layers about4inches thick. 
Radishes .—The early sorts may be sown in vacant 
places. Winter varieties are to be treated like 
turnips. Those who are fond of radishes should 
try the Chinese Rose-colored Winter—the best. 
Spinach may be sown for fall cutting; the crop to 
winter over should be deferred until next month. 
Squashes .—Look for insects’ eggs on the under 
sides of the leaves, and crush them. Several ways 
of destroying insects are given in this and previous 
numbers. Hand-picking is a great help. If the 
runners root at the joints, do not disturb them. 
Sweet Potatoes .—Keep the soil clean and mellow. 
At the North the vines should not be allowed to 
take root at the joints; move them occasionally. 
Tomatoes .—If training of any kind is done, keep 
the vines tied up and in good order. If any worm 
“droppings” are seen upon the leaves or on the 
ground, search for the worm. It is the large green 
worm that infests potatoes and tobacco, and will 
not only cat leaves and stems butgreen fruit. Catch 
and crush. Save seed only from the earliest and 
best formed, if it is desired to keep the variety in 
its purity. It often happens that a vine will be 
more prolific or beara better fruit than the rest,— 
indeed be as distinct as many of the “new varie¬ 
ties.” Save seed of such specimens for trial. 
Turnips .—Sow Ruta-bagas early in the month, 
and the flat kinds later. Give a dusting of lime as 
soon as the plants arc up, to keep off insects. 
Water only when plants are absolutely sufferiug ; 
with thorough working there is seldom need of 
it. If liquid manure is used, do not apply it dur¬ 
ing a time of drouth, but only in a growing time. 
Flower €3artleii staid JLsrww. 
The condition in which the grounds are kept in 
the month of August is a good indication of the 
gardener’s industry. Some enthusiasts work well 
while they are rewarded by an abundance of spring 
flowers, but their zeal abates under the August 
heat. In this interregnum between the early and 
late blooming flowers the few that show themselves 
should be made to look at their best, and neatness 
and care make up for the lack of floral display. 
Beds in the lawn ought always to present a well-de¬ 
fined margin, and no grass or clover should be al¬ 
lowed to run into them. These beds are generally 
planted in masses and should be kept well weeded, 
and the soil loose until the plants have covered it. 
When “foliage plants” arc employed they produce 
a much better effect if trimmed occasionally, so as 
to keep the center of the mass the highest. 
Lawns , to be velvety, need mowing every week. 
The hand and horse machines now in use allow this 
