AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
395 
1868 .] 
throw them a little charcoal dust and corn mixed 
and slightly moistened. It keeps them in good 
condition, and sharpens their appetites. After hogs 
are fat enough to kill it is easy to keep them so a 
while, even in severe weather; but when it is very 
cold they must be in very warm quarters or they 
will eat a great deal and not gain a pound. This 
month is the time to prepare for a litter of pigs in 
March. These will be old enough to consume their 
share of milk when the cows come in. 
Sheep should have dry sheds, sunny yards, and be 
fed from racks and troughs. Graining should com¬ 
mence as grass fails, and the flocks should be so 
divided that those placed together are of about 
equal strength. The high price of linseed cake 
and meal will prevent their use to a great extent. 
Corn is the natural substitute, and a good one, but 
it must be used with greater caution. Keep sheep 
constantly and gradually gaining. Ewes served in 
November will yean in April; that is, in 150 days. 
Horses .—It is a good plan to give farm horses the 
range of weedy stubble and other fields late in the 
season. They eat a great many weeds as other 
forage fails. We keep our horses too warm, as a 
rule, for the sake of giving them smooth coats. 
Make it a rule never to give a horse feed or water 
until he has stood an hour after coming in off the 
road or from hard work. Rub him down as soon 
as he comes in, throw a warm blanket over him, 
and remove it when he is fed or within an hour. 
Never leave a warm horse to 'cool off in drafts of 
air or in the wind out-of-doors. A horse stable 
should be light, airy, and roomy. A horse that 
does nothing will do well on hay alone, water¬ 
ed twice a day, and groomed twice a week. If he 
is used, groom daily. Keep the stable always clean. 
Beef-Cattle .—This season is the best in the year, 
perhaps, for putting flesh upon beeves. They must 
be fed at. each meal all that they will eat with a 
relish and digest thoroughly, so as to be hungry 
when the time comes for feeding again. All suc¬ 
cess, we may say, depends upon appetite, and this 
upon health. It is promoted by an occasional 
change of diet, by the use of the card and curry¬ 
comb, but above all by punctuality in giving stalled 
cattle their feed. Litter well and save every drop 
and particle of manorial value. These are the 
feeder’s principal profits. Keep the stables warm 
but the air pure. Quiet and darkness are important. 
Cows .—Keep them quiet. Feed corn stalks cut 
fine, soaked 12 hours, with meal upon them. If 
possible, keep water before cows all the time. See 
article on butter making. It will pay those hav¬ 
ing good, warm milk-rooms to make butter all 
winter. We are in the habit of drying our cows 
off very much too early. To make butter, how¬ 
ever, will require liberal feeding with corn meal, 
rye bran, canielle, or something of the kind. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Fruit is much accelerated or retarded in ripening 
by the temperature. That will keep best which is 
subjected to few alterations of temperature, and 
has been as cool as-may be without actually freezing. 
Ripening is an interesting process; it is the first 
step towards decay. Changes go on in the fruit 
after it is picked, quite a's important as those which 
occur at any other time. Not only do the access 
of air and the temperature affect the fruit, but the 
fruit in ripening affects both air and temperature. 
Oxygen is absorbed, carbonic acid given off, and 
heat produced. Open the fruit cellar or room 
whenever the outside temperature will allow, pro¬ 
vided it is not warmer without than within. 
Planting may often be done this month, but on 
no account set trees in wet or partly frozen soil. 
It will be much better to heel-in the trees in a dry, 
sandy spot, unless the soil is in a condition per¬ 
fectly well suited to receive them. 
Cider is still to be made. See page 359, last month. 
Vinegar .—Convert all inferior fruit into vinegar ; 
it will pay better than to turn it into pork. See 
article on vinegar making, last month, page 367. 
Stocks for root-grafting are to be taken up, assort¬ 
ed, and tied in bundles of convenient size, and 
either buried where they can be got at when need¬ 
ed, or, what is better, packed in boxes of sawdust 
of its natural dampness, and placed in a cool cellar. 
Cions may be cut at any time when the wood is 
not frozen. Store them in sawdust and see that it 
does not dry out, and that the boxes are kept cool. 
Seedlings will need protection, but this should not 
be applied too early. Nature uses leaves, and noth¬ 
ing better has yet been proposed. In the absence 
of these, use boughs of cedar or other evergreen. 
Fruit Ganlcu. 
See last month’s notes, as well as those given 
above under orchard. 
Rears of the choice kinds, that have been well 
kept, now bring a good price in market. It will 
pay to pack fine specimens of Beurre d’Anjou, 
Duchesse d’ Angouleme,and such high-priced kinds, 
in cheap boxes holding a single layer of fruit, and 
wrap each pear in some very soft white paper. A 
good pear is such a royal thing that it cannot be 
treated with too much attention. 
Covering of all plants, whether of raspberries and 
grape-vines with earth, or strawberries with straw 
or other material, should not be done too soon nor 
delayed too late. Try to catch just that time when 
winter sets in, and the ground is about to freeze. 
Root Cuttings of blackberries, raspberries, and 
all plants propagated in this way, are to be made. 
The whole story is; cut the roots in pieces two to 
three inches in length, and pack them with earth 
in a box. If the box be at all tight, make holes to 
allow any moisture to drain off, and bury it in a 
place deep enough to be safe from frost, and where 
no water will accumulate. If the spot be not nat¬ 
urally dry, put in a drain of some kind. 
Cuttings of currants, gooseberries, and quinces, 
may be planted. We have often given directions 
for the best treatment of cuttings of this kind. 
One condition of success is that the soil be closely 
pressed against the lower ends of the cuttings. 
Grape-vines .—It is better to prune these now, 
but they may be left until very early spring. We 
are often asked “How shall I prune my grape-vine?” 
The question is as difficult to answer as it would be 
for a doctor to prescribe merely upon the inform¬ 
ation, “My wife is sick, what shall I do for her?” 
Each vine must be treated according to its individ¬ 
ual needs, no matter what “system” of pruning 
is adopted. In view of these frequent queries, we 
have written a series of articles, extending nearly 
through the whole year, the main object of which 
has been to show the reader, in the first place, how 
the vine grows, and secondly, to set forth that all 
systems of pruning depended upon this knowledge. 
An intelligent person upon looking over the arti¬ 
cles mentioned caunot go far wrong, and we refer 
to those for general principles. How to prune,— 
the merely mechanical art,—will depend upon how 
much is to be done. Where there.are many vines, 
one of the very clever pruning shears, now sold by 
dealers in implements, will be found best, but a 
good knife will do. It is safer to leave one more 
bud than is needed on each cane; i. e., if two 
shoots are wanted in a place, leave three buds. 
When the severity of winter is over, say in Febru¬ 
ary, go over the vines and remove the extra bud. 
In all pruning do not cut too close to a bud, but 
leave about an inch of cane above the last one. 
Grape Cuttings .—The wood resulting from prun¬ 
ing may be used for propagation. It should be 
kept cool and from drying. There is a great differ¬ 
ence in varieties as to the ease with which they 
may be propagated. The management of difficult 
sorts was described in November, 1867, page 409. 
Eiitchcn Garden. 
Follow the suggestions given last month, con¬ 
cerning the preparation of the soil. Have every 
foot spaded or plowed that can be done. Sod land, 
intended to be used for garden crops next year, 
should be heavily manured and plowed. Put down 
drains, if needed, and the weather serves. 
Asparagus Beds are to be covered with coarse 
manure, or with straw or other litter. 
Roots placed in pits as directed last month are to 
be covered with earth only when the weather ren¬ 
ders protection necessary. The hardier roots, such 
as parsnips and horseradish, may be dug as long as 
the ground is not too much frozen. 
Manure .—Success in gardening depends in the 
main upon not only generous, but heavy manuring. 
For an excellent method of increasing the stock, 
see the notes on farm work and various articles 
scattered through our pages. There is an import¬ 
ant item, night soil, usually neglected. For the 
method of converting this into valuable pott- 
drette for the garden, see article on page 416. 
Rhubarb is better transplanted now than in spring. 
It may be done as long as the ground remains open. 
This plant needs an abundance of manure. 
Cold Frames .—Cabbages and other plants winter¬ 
ed in these are oftener killed by too much heat 
than by the cold. They will endure a moderate 
freezing without injury. The sashes should be 
put over the frames at night only, unless the 
weather becomes colder than usual this month. 
Celerg may be stored in trenches—or left still la¬ 
ter if it can be banked up with earth. The storing 
for winter is done in trenches a foot wide, and as 
deep as necessary to admit the plants. Set the roots 
close together, without any packing of earth, and 
when cold weather comes on, cover with straw. 
Cabbages .—'The best method yet devised for pre¬ 
serving these is to invert the heads and cover them 
with four to six inches of earth. This should be 
postponed as late as the earth can be worked. 
Spinach will, in most places, need a slight cover¬ 
ing, applied only when the ground begins to freeze. 
Soil should be prepared for use in liot-beds next 
spring. It is often difficult to get it at the lime it 
is needed, and it facilitates matters much to have a 
good heap in readiness. A light, rich loam is re¬ 
quired, and if the garden soil is heavy, use a portion 
of sand. Let well-rotted manure form one-third 
the bulk. Incorporate the whole thoroughly, 
and place in a heap and cover with boards or sods. 
Flower Garden and Fawn. 
In this department there is little to add to our 
notes of last month, and many directions given 
then will prove quite timely now. In this, as in 
all other gardening, endeavor to do now everything 
that will save work next spring. 
Planting of many things may yet be done, the 
rules governing the planting of deciduous orna¬ 
mental trees and shrubs being much the same 
as already indicated under fruit trees and shrubs. 
Bulbs should have been planted last month, but 
they may be put in now with good results. Bulbs 
of Gladiolus, etc., are to be taken up. Japan 
Lilies are quite hardy. Cover all bulb beds, new 
and old, with a good coat of coarse manure, ap¬ 
plied when the ground begins to freeze. 
Chrysanthemnms will need stakes. Put those in 
pots, after their bloom is over, in a cool cellar. 
Dahlias .—If these are still in the ground, take 
them up and store as directed last month. 
Protect half hardy things as the weather gets 
cold, by the use of litter and evergreen boughs. 
4wt*een n,n«H Hfiol-SBioiiscs. 
Sudden changes are to be guarded against, and 
as the sun still does a good part of the heating, 
lire will only be needed occasionally. 
Insects .—Watch for and attack on their appearance. 
Bulbs .—Bring a portion of the pots into a warm 
place, if they have made a good supply of roots. 
Camellias will need a frequent use of the syringe 
to keep the foliage healthy. Keep them cool. 
Propagate , for winter blooming, a stock of rapidly 
growing things, if there are vacancies to fill. 
Climbers are most useful in the green-house, and 
amongst these the Tropoeolums are very valuable. 
Annuals may be sown, though the bloom will be 
late. Mignonette, Sweet Alyssum, and Candytuft, 
are always in request for bouquets m winter. 
