AMERICAN 
garden. 
SEASONABIE HINTS, 
ics loo early, is 
Bo not cover your Straiebern fj-pngly 
a. injunctiou which we cannot 
imnress upon our readers at tin 
impress up ^ 
The novice in 
y.flakes fall^or frost kills tender 
haste to protect his_ plants so soon as the 
first snow- 
^%be object of winter-mulching being to 
prevent the ground from too frequent thaw¬ 
ing, it is evident that any process that 
guards it against fr-eezing does more harm 
than good. Of course, it is possible to mulch 
plants so heavily as to keep the gi-ound from 
freezing at all, but not without smothering 
or seriously injuring them, unless they were 
in a cold fi-ame. 
In this latitude it is not advisable to cover 
Strawberry plants much before the last week 
of this month, and never before the ground 
is frozen hai-d. Freshly cut evergi-eeu 
branches, the concave side placed down¬ 
ward, make the very best and most con¬ 
veniently applied covering material, and 
may be turned to the additional use of 
serving as Pea-brush the following sum¬ 
mer, for which the straighter branches 
are excellently adapted. On farms or 
country places, where some out-of-the- 
way land is available, it would be worth 
while to plant a number of Norway 
Spruce or other quick-growing evergreens 
for this purpose alone. In the absence of 
evergreen branches, straw, leaves, or 
corn-stalks may be used. A covering of 
two or three inches at the utmost is 
sufficient. 
Boot Cuttiny-f:. —Blackberries, and all 
varieties of Easpbenies that sucker 
freely, may be propagated by root cut¬ 
tings ; and when it is desired to increase 
a new' or scarce kind as rapidly as possi¬ 
ble, this is the plan pursued. 
At any time after the plants have 
ceased growing, and before the ground 
freezes to a great depth, the roots are 
dug up and cut in pieces of about two 
inches in length if for outdoor propaga¬ 
tion, and much smaller when to be 
started on a cutting-bench. If it is desired 1 
to preser\c the old bushes, some of the roots ■ 
may be cut off at about a foot from the stools, 
without detriment to the parent bush. 
These pieces are then put into a box, by 
first scattering an inch or two of soil over 
the bottom, on which a layer of cuttings is 
placed, then a layer of soil, a layer of cut¬ 
tings, another layer of soil, and so on till all 
are disposed of, when the box is filled with 
soil to the brim. They may bo wintered in a 
cool cellar,—a wann place will not do,—ex¬ 
amining them occasionally, and moistening 
the soil if it should become so dry as to 
cause the roots to shrivel. Or the box may 
be dug in the gi-ound outdoors on some dry 
spot, and covered sufficiently with soil to 
exclude frost. 
In spring, as soon as the gi'omid is fit for 
working, they are to bo planted about six 
inches apart, m drills two to three inehos 
deep and eighteen inches from each other. 
The planting consi.sts in simply placing the 
pieces m the drill, covering with 11,, 0 ^ soil 
pressing down firmly, and filling up the drill,’ 
' 00 VBEIN& or in- 
Wben liml's of jj g to heal over 
deed any Ihnbs no so small ^ 
iu one or two ®;j,.,^t,iethat the wound 
fruit-tree, it is go„iething to proteo 
should bo coveied 1 ^-ot 
it from the weather ,,pidly in¬ 
will soon coninieiic , . the whole 
ward and ^ownivaij 
tree below the "’ound, mak ng 
wellasshort-lived,andinoieoi 
ductive while it does live. ^^ed 
Various preparations 
and used for .,,fter such as 
cements of a ivater-proot chaiactei, 
?raftiug-wax, a solution ot shellac 11 
E or ‘‘ niaUc,” made by boiling pmo tar 
to expel most of the volatile _ 
about ten per cent, of bees-wax and th ck 
ening with finely powdered clay, sux or oig 
ounces to a pound of tar. Tins is add d o 
prevent the cement from running, undei me 
heat of the sun. We have used such a 
cement for many years, and have found it 
preferable to any other of a similar char- 
just right for covering tree wounds 
small flat badger brush, an inch 
and a quarter wide and rather**^ 
applying the paint, and find one 
enough,though as I 
go around*thtQ®“*"y 
every spring to cover the new cut 
. 
give the old ones of large size 
If you desire to make the woundT"**’^ 
oils, so as to he easily seen and re'*”-*’’'*'' 
Venetian red is the best paint to uso^f*'"*^^’ 
purpose; but if, on the contrary, you’| : 
to make them inconspicuous, raw • 
gives a color nearest to that of tho „ i 
iughark. , 
This application has the gi-eat mer't 
iillowingthe transpiration of inward m'-* 
ure, while excluding external wet. C**' 
with the least tendency to black-heart (wk** I 
indicates injury from severe cold, anda/t I 
of hardiness of the iron-clad sort), will | ' 
ways “bleed” more or less from cuts th 
disorganized sap exuding and looseniug u,* 
shellac, wax, or mastic covering, and often 
running down and blackening the hark i 
have uot seen any of this where thick paint 
has been used, the inward moisture evap. 
orating through the paint covering as 
fast as it comes to the surface. I con. 
sider this a great advantage, as the over- 
flowing sap has a cankering effect upon 
the bark around the wound, and prevents 
li ealing. It also seems to injure the bark 
of the trunk over which it flows. 
S. H. Hoskins, M. B. 
itiop" 
RANCOCAS 
aeter. Shellac scales olT, and does not yield 
to the gi’owth of the wood and bark as the 
MOiiiid heals over. Grafting-wax bccoines 
oxidized and crumbly, cracking and splitting 
off so as to expose the wood, on largo cuts, 
beforo thoy aro well hcalod. But tho tar 
mastic never scales off, cracks, or bocomos 
hard. It will bo found still perfect in llio 
form of a ball adlioring to llio contor of tho 
scar, after ticaling is coinploto. On troos 
of vigorous growl,li, luird-woodod and en¬ 
tirely iron-clad, liko the .Siberians and 
sians, it answers every pnrposo. 
But all tlioso various water-proof eomonts 
liave tlio serious defoet ot not only oxcluding 
mo.sturo Iron, withont, which in ,lcsirod but 
also of conlin.ng tho moisture from witl,i„ 
"lie 1 '"") 
mw o|. Hionnit, i|,„ m 
come 111 tho cans they arc nnito thiol ^ ^ 
.. 
THE EANCOOAS EASPBEEEI. 
Among the new fruits to be introdneed 
the coining season this chance seedling 
Raspberry seems, according to the opin¬ 
ion of several experts, to he one of the 
most promising. Not having seen the 
beiTj' oiu’selves we give the description 
by Mr. A. Hansell, on whose farm it was 
found: 
‘ ‘ I found the Eancocas in a most un¬ 
favorable spot, surrounded by briars, and 
in every way neglected. Its vigor, pro¬ 
ductiveness, size, and oarliness led me 
to transplant it. The bush starts late 
in the spring, when it branches freely 
These branches load themselves with 
fruit, so as to almost conceal the IcaieSi 
presenting a mass of solid, red, ripe 
berries. This habit of the bush, in connec¬ 
tion with tho fruit ripening so quickly, ren 
dors it tho easiest and cheapest variety •> 
pick that we have over grown. 
moil roinavk of our pickers that they 
rather pick tho Eancocas for two cents F 
quart tliaii any other variety for Hu'®® ' 
“Tho plant suckors freely,end 
is it that it eiloctiially smothers the q''®'- 
grass that would otherwise overrun 
ground. Wo do not head back the si 
or even trim out the old frnitiug caaos' 
tliosummor; but in tho fall, ^put 
of work is over, wo go through and 
llio old canes, and thin out the suckeiSi^^ 
ing only sulUeiontfor tho next sonson s 
ing. Tho oaiios loft for fruiting n'® 
lioadod about two and a halt f®®* 
ground. It is tlio busy man’s if ii®' ' 
miiii’s bovry. nrfsP®'' 
“ It will produeo twice ns many qj* 
aero as tho Brniidywino. The bn® pjgst 
novor boon in tlio leiistinjurod by the s 
wiiilov woivthor, and tho foliag® ^ „ 
shown a trace 
53if 
Kile 
Jssjte 
el;?' 
aidae 
'.twrii 
rop, a 
ttoaHe 
h* 
iPel 
ctaj 
rim 
fa t 
: ilfti 
% 
•p 
■ fiSis 
■ all 
% 
1'^ 
>'o 
yellows 
