Chapter XVII: Part VI (2)

1078. _Proper Temperature for a Dairy._--The apartments appropriated for dairy purposes should, if possible, possess a moderate temperature throughout the year, and should be kept perfectly clean and dry. The temperature of about fifty-five degrees is most favorable for the separation of the cream from the milk. The utensils of the dairy are best made of wood; lead and copper are soluble in acid, and highly pernicious; and though iron is not injurious, the taste of it might render the produce of the dairy unpalatable.

1079. _Method of making excellent Butter from the Milk of Cows fed upon Turnips._--Let the bowls, either lead or wood, be kept constantly clean, and well scalded with boiling water, before using. When the milk is brought into the dairy, to every eight quarts mix one quart of boiling water; then put up the milk into the bowls to stand for cream. By keeping strictly to this method, you will have, during the winter, constantly sweet and well-tasted butter from the milk of cows fed upon turnips.

1080. _Improved Method of making Butter._--If the dairy consists of three or four cows, they should be milked in the summer thrice a day; in the morning, at noon, and in the evening. Each milking must be kept by itself, in flat wooden vessels, to cool in like manner; and thus in succession for two or three days, according to the temperature of the air, the milk thickens, and thence is fit for churning, soonest in the warmest weather. The quantity of butter will be generally in the proportion of a pound (twenty-two ounces) for each ten pints, or five English gallons of milk. In winter, the cows are to be milked only twice a day, and the milk is to be put into the churn warm from the cow, where it must stand a day or two longer than in summer before it becomes sufficiently thick; although to promote the coagulation, it is sometimes brought near the kitchen fire, particularly on the preceding night before it is churned; and, in intense cold, it will be necessary to add a small quantity of boiling water. The operation of churning is performed with the plunge-churn, from two to three hours, for thirty or forty pints of milk; and at the last stage of the process, a little cold water thrown in has the effect of promoting the separation of the butter from the milk. This method of making butter has long been practiced in England; it may be worth trial in America.

N.B.--The dairy-maid must not be disheartened if she does not succeed perfectly in her first attempt.

1081. _To prevent Cows from contracting bad Habits while Milking._--Cows should always be treated with great gentleness, and soothed by mild usage, especially when young and ticklish, or when the paps are tender, in which case the udder ought to be fomented with warm water, before milking, and touched with the greatest gentleness, otherwise the cow will be in danger of contracting bad habits, becoming stubborn and unruly, and retaining her milk ever after. A cow never lets down her milk pleasantly to the person she dreads or dislikes. The udder and paps should always be washed with clean water before milking; but care should be taken that none of that water be admitted into the milking pail.

1082. _To mark Sheep, without injury to the Wool._--To thirty spoonfuls of linseed oil, add two ounces of litharge and one ounce of lamp-black: unite them together by boiling, and mark the sheep therewith.

1083. _To improve the Wool of Sheep, by Smearing._--Immediately after the sheep are shorn, soak the roots of the wool that remain all over with oil or butter and brimstone; and three or four days afterwards, wash them with salt and water. The wool of next season will not only be much finer, but the quantity will be in greater abundance. It may be depended upon, that the sheep will not be troubled with the scab or vermin that year. Salt water is a safe and effectual remedy against maggots.

1084. _To preserve Cattle from Disease in the Winter._--When cattle are kept out in the winter, it is recommended as an useful practice to rub some tar at the root of the horn, which prevents the wet from getting between the root and the skin, and, it is said, contributes to preserve the health of the animal, and to keep it free from various diseases to which it may otherwise be liable.

1085. _How to Promote the Health of Farm Animals._--All domestic animals should be abundantly furnished with salt. A supply kept within their reach, whenever it can be done, is recommended. Horses and pigs should occasionally have ashes given them in their food; and pigs ought at all times, when confined in pens, to be supplied with charcoal, as, besides being a medicine, it is a cheap and valuable food.

1086. _Parsley recommended to Farmers to be sown with Rape-seed, as a preservative against the Resp in Sheep._--A correspondent of the "Chester Chronicle" recommends to all farmers who sow rape-seed, to sow with it a small portion of parsley at the same time; this he pronounces an infallible preservative against the malady well-known by the name of _resp_, in sheep: he also advises to sow parsley on turnip land at the time of hoeing turnips. The above correspondent asserts, that he has pursued this plan upwards of twenty-five years, and during that time he has never lost one sheep, either in rape or turnip land.

_Remark._--In some counties, parsley is sown with clover, on the supposition that it prevents cattle from being bursten, or hoven.

1087. _How to catch Sheep._--Never seize them by the wool on the back; it hurts them exceedingly, and, in some cases, has been known to kill them, particularly in hot weather, when they are large and fat. The best way is to avoid the wool altogether; accustom yourself to take them by the hind leg, or what is still better, by the neck, placing one hand under the jaws, and the other at the back of the ears. By lifting up the head, in this manner, a child may hold almost any sheep, without danger to the animal or himself.

1088. _Mr. Bakewell's Liquid for the cure of the Foot-rot in Sheep._--Dissolve four ounces, each, of vitriol and common alum, three ounces of verdigris, an ounce and a half of white mercury, and an ounce of white copperas, all finely pulverized, in a quart of white-wine vinegar.

1089. _Mr. Culley's Red Salve, to cure the Rot in Sheep._--Mix four ounces of the best honey, two ounces of burnt alum, reduced to powder, and half a pound of Armenian bole, with as much train or fish oil as will convert these ingredients into the consistence of a salve. The honey must first be gradually dissolved, when the Armenian bole must be stirred in; afterwards the alum and train oil are to be added.

1090. _A profitable way of fattening Pigs._--Put four pigs in a sty, for they feed best in company; but if there are too many, they are apt to quarrel: feed them moderately the first week; and thrice during the second week, mix with their barley-meal as much antimony as will lie on a shilling; and the third week, twice give them the same quantity. I need scarcely observe, it is in powder.

This purifies the blood, gives them an appetite, and makes them thrive apace.

1091. _New mode of fattening Pigs._--A pig lately gained, by feeding on Indian corn, in the course of six weeks and three days, the enormous weight of fifteen stone. This mode of feeding has long been known to the Neapolitans, whose pigs are so fat, as hardly to be able to move.

GARDENING.

1092. _Proper situation for a Green-House._--The aspect of a green-house may be at any point from east to west, following the course of the sun; or, it may even be a little to the north of east or west; but only a little, and the less the better, otherwise the plants will not generally thrive in it, nor will the flowers acquire their natural colors. A south aspect is to be preferred.

1093. _On preserving Seeds of Plants in a state fit for Vegetation._--Seeds of plants may be preserved, for many months at least, by causing them to be packed, either in husks, pods, &c., in absorbent paper, with raisins or brown moist sugar; or, a good way, practised by gardeners, is to wrap the seed in brown paper or cartridge paper, pasted down, and then varnished over.

1094. _To facilitate the Growth of Foreign Seeds._--Mr. Humboldt has found, that seeds which do not commonly germinate in our climate, or in our hot-houses, and which, of course, we cannot raise for our gardens, or hope to naturalize in our fields, become capable of germinating, when immersed for some days in a weak, oxygenized muriatic acid. This interesting discovery has already turned to advantage in several botanic gardens.

1095. _To plant and make Edgings._--Edgings of daisies, thrift, violets, gentianella, &c., should be planted in February; but those of box succeed better, if planted in April or August.

1096. _To train Evergreen and other Hedges._--Evergreen hedges may be clipt about the beginning, but not later than the middle of April, as by that time they will begin to grow--and it is proper that this work should be previously performed. Some content themselves with clipping but once a year, in which case the end of July, or first of August, is a better time.

In trimming these, or indeed any hedge intended as a close fence, they should be dressed up to a thin edge at top, as otherwise they are apt to get full of gaps below; and the cause is obvious, that the under part, in square or cut hedges, is too much shaded by the upper part. Now, by sloping the sides, every part of the hedge is freely exposed to the air; nor is any part over-dropped by another. A hedge, intended merely as a fence, need seldom be more than five feet high, or at most six. Screen hedges may be allowed to run to any height thought necessary for the purpose; neither is it requisite to trim them so often as fence-hedges; once a year, or in two years, may be sufficient.

In the training of any hedge, it should not be topped or shortened, till it has arrived at a full yard in height; but it may then have a little taken off the points, in order to make it bush the better, and shoot afterwards of a more regular height; the sides, however, should be trimmed from the second or third year of planting, that it may grow the more complete and close below, for therein consists the excellence of any fence. It should not in topping, at any time while in training, be much cut in, as that would make it push the stronger to the top, to the detriment of the sides. When fence-hedges outgrow their limits, they must, of course, be cut either wholly or partly down; but if they be tolerably well kept, it is seldom necessary to cut them down more than half to the ground.

1097. _How to cut Box Edgings._--Box edgings should be cut about the beginning of April, or in the end of July. They should, however, be cut once a year, and should be kept two inches in breadth at bottom; being tapered up to a thin edge at top; for nothing looks so ill as a large, bushy edging, especially to a narrow walk. The use of edging is to separate the earth from the gravel; and the larger they are allowed to grow, the less effectual they become; getting the more open below, as they advance in height. Such also harbor snails, and other troublesome vermin.

1098. _A sure method of curing Gravel-Walks._--Three parts pond-water to one of brine, from the salting-tub in a family, poured with a watering-pot upon gravel-walks, will not only kill the moss upon them, but drive away the worms which make so many holes in them, and also prevent weeds springing up. This a gentleman lately tried, who has several gravel-walks in a grove near his house. Since he moistened his walks with brine--which is now four years ago--they are incommoded neither by moss, weeds, nor worms. Every autumn he causes them to be well watered with the brine and pond-water, during a whole week, to prevent moss; and a week in the spring, to guard against weeds and worms; besides giving them a sprinkling every now and then, in the summer-season, when they seem to want it.

1099. _Proper method of laying Carnations._--In summer, towards the latter-end of June, or any time in July or beginning of August, when the shoots of the year are advanced to a proper growth, being from four, five, or six, to seven or eight inches long, which are to be laid as they grow on the plants, and to remain affixed thereto till rooted on the ground.

Thus far observed, begin the work by first clearing away all weeds about the plants, and loosen the earth a little around them, and if the surface is low, add some mould thereto sufficient to raise it high enough to receive the layers easily; then begin laying the shoots one by one; strip off the lower leaves so as to have some inches of a clear shoot below; and trim the top leaves shorter and even, and then slit or gash the shoot on the under side; in doing which, fix on a joint about the middle of the shoot underneath, and with your sharp knife cut half through the joint, and slanting upwards; so as to slit the shoot up the middle half an inch, or but little more; which done, directly lay it, by bending it down to the earth with the gash or slit part open, making an opening in the earth, and peg it down with one or two of the small-hooked sticks, and earth over the body of the layer an inch or two deep, still keeping the slit open and the top raised gently upright, pressing the earth moderately upon them; and in this manner proceed with laying all the shoots on each plant; and when all are laid, give a gentle watering to settle the earth close about the layers, and repeat it frequently in dry weather.

They will soon emit roots at the gash or slit part, generally at the bottom of the tongue, and in five or six weeks will often be rooted fit for separating and planting off from the parent, so that when they have been about five, six, or seven weeks laid, you will examine the progress they have made in rooting, by opening the earth gently about some of the layers; and as soon as they appear to be tolerably rooted, let them be cut off from the old plant with a sharp knife, in order to be timely planted out in nursery beds, that they may root more abundantly, and get due strength before winter; observing, in cutting them off from the mother plant, to open the ground so as to take them up with all the roots they have made, and cut them clean off beyond the gash; afterwards trim off any naked woody part or bottom, but preserve all the roots, and trim the long tops a little, then plant them in nursery rows, six inches asunder, or you may prick some in small pots, one layer in each, giving water directly at planting, and repeat it often in dry weather till they take good root, and grow freely, keeping them clean from weeds.

Those in the nursery beds will, by October, be good strong plants. The choicest sorts may then be planted in pots, to move under occasional shelter in time of severe frost, and for which purpose, either use small pots (32) to contain them all winter, or plant them in large pots (24 or 16) to remain to flower, observing to take them up out of the nursery beds for potting, &c., with a garden trowel, each layer with a good ball of earth about the roots; and having the pots ready, place a shell over the holes at bottom, and put some good light rich earth therein; plant one layer with its ball about the roots entire in each pot, fill up with more earth, and give some water; you may also at the same time plant some of the more ordinary or common sorts into flower-borders or beds, to stand the full weather all the year; but the choicer sorts in the pots may, in November, be placed close together, either in a garden-frame, to have occasional protection of the glasses, or mats, in severe frost, and have the full air in all open weather and mild days, or may be plunged in a raised bed of any dry compost, raised some inches above the common level, and arched over with hoop arches, in order to be protected with occasional covering of garden mats when hard frosts prevail; but in either method, be sure to expose them fully in all open weather, as aforesaid.

In the spring, such as have remained all winter in small pots should, in February or early in March, be turned out with the ball of earth about the root, and planted into larger pots, to remain for flowering, giving proper waterings; and those which were potted at once into larger pots in autumn should now have the earth stirred at top, taking out some, and fill up with fresh good earth, and give a little water.

The layers planted in the common borders of the pleasure and flower garden require no other care than keeping them clean from weeds, and tying up the flower stalks to sticks when they are advanced long enough to require support.

1100. _To remove Herbs and Flowers in the Summer._--If you have occasion to transplant in the summer season, let it be in the evening after the heat is past; plant and water the same immediately, and there will be no danger from the heat next day; but be careful, in digging up the earth, you do not break any of the young shoots, as the sap will exude out of the same to the great danger of the plants.

1101. _New Method of raising Cucumbers._--From the best seed that can be got of the common prickly cucumber, raise plants on a moderate hot-bed, not hurrying them too much in their growth. In May, when the danger of the frost is nearly over, familiarize the plants, by degrees, to the air, and towards the latter end of the month plant them in the open ground against a south wall. Take care not to give them too much water, as that will injure the fruit. When they have run up about five feet, they will send forth blossoms, and the fruit will begin to show itself soon after. The flesh of cucumbers raised in this manner will be thicker and firmer, and the flavor vastly more delicious, than those raised from the same seed, but planted in the ordinary way, and the runners suffered to trail on the ground. Though a south wall in most gardens, is too much appropriated to other things, to give room for cucumbers in general, yet in every garden a few plants may be so trained by way of rarity, and to save seed, which is found to be greatly improved by this method, so as to produce much better cucumbers in the common way of raising them. One or two plants, so raised, will supply a sufficient quantity of seed for a large garden.

Laying a cucumber or melon-bed with tiles, is also of particular service in improving the fruit, and giving it a proper flavor.

1102. _To prevent the irregular Growth of Melons._--It is well known that melons frequently, in certain situations, lose their circular form, and grow larger on one side than the other, and that those misshapen fruits are always bad. To remedy this, take a small forked stick, in proportion to the size of the melon, and thrust it in the ground as nearly as possible to the tail of the fruit, taking the precaution to lay a little moss between the two prongs, and suspend the melon to this fork. In a few days the melon will resume its form, when the fork may be removed, and the operation is finished. The quality of the fruit remains unchanged.

1103. _Easy Method of producing Mushrooms._--If the water wherein mushrooms have been steeped or washed be poured upon an old bed, or if the broken parts of mushrooms be strewed thereon, there will speedily arise great numbers.

1104. _To obtain a good Crop of Onions._--In order to obtain a good crop of onions, it is proper to sow at different seasons, viz., in light soils, in August, January, or early in February; and in heavy wet soils, in March, or early in April. Onions, however, should not be sown in January, unless the ground be in a dry state, which is not often the case at so early a period of the season; but if so, advantage should be taken of it.

1105. _The Advantage of sowing Peas in Circles instead of straight Rows._--It is a great error in those persons who sow the rows of tall-growing peas close together. It is much better in all those sorts, which grow six or eight feet high, to have only one row, and then to leave a bed ten or twelve feet wide for onions, carrots, or any crops which do not grow tall.

The advantages which will be derived are, that the peas will not be drawn up so much, be stronger, will flower much nearer to the ground, and in wet weather can be more easily gathered without wetting you.

But instead of sowing peas in straight rows, if you will form the ground into circles of three feet diameter, with a space of two feet between each circle, in a row thirty feet long, you will have six circles of peas, each nine feet, in all fifty-four feet of peas, instead of thirty, on the same extent of ground.

If you want more than one row of circles, leave a bed of ten or twelve feet before you begin another.

For the very tall sorts, four feet circles will afford more room for the roots to grow in, and care must be taken, by applying some tender twigs, or strings, to prevent the circles from joining each other.

This method is equally applicable for scarlet-beans.

1106. _To raise Peas in Autumn, and to prevent Mice from eating them when sown._--The purple-flowered peas are found to answer best for a late crop in autumn, as they are not so liable to be mildewed as many of the other sorts, and will continue flowering till the frost stops them.

Those peas may be sown in July, August, or so late as the first week in September, if sown in a warm, sheltered situation, and in a soil inclining to sand.

Soak the peas in warm milk, and after you have drawn the drills, water them before you sow the peas; it is best to sow them towards the evening. If the autumn should prove very dry, they will require frequent watering.

When peas are sown before winter, or early in spring, they are very apt to be eaten by mice.

To prevent this, soak the peas for a day or two in train oil before you sow them, which will encourage their vegetation, and render them so obnoxious to the mice, that they will not eat them.

1107. _Method of cultivating Radishes for Salad, so as to have them ready at all seasons of the year._--Take seeds of the common radish, and lay them in rain-water to steep for twenty-four hours; then put them quite wet into a small linen bag, well tied at the mouth with packthread. If you have steeped a large quantity of seeds, you may divide them into several bags. Then expose the bags in a place where they will receive the greatest heat of the sun, for about twenty-four hours, at the end of which time the seed will begin to grow, and you may then sow it in the usual manner, in earth well exposed to the heat of the sun. Prepare two small tubs to cover each other exactly. These may be easily provided, by sawing a small cask through the middle, and they will serve in winter; in summer one will be sufficient for each kind of earth that has been sown. As soon as you have sown your seeds you must cover them with your tub, and at the end of three days you will find radishes of the size and thickness of young lettuces, having at their extremities two small round leaves, rising from the earth, of a reddish color. These radishes, cut or pulled up, will be excellent, if mixed with salad, and they have a much more delicate taste than the common radishes which are eaten with salt.

By taking the following precautions, you may have them in the winter, and even during the hardest frosts: After having steeped the seeds in warm water, and exposed them to the sun, as already directed, or in a place sufficiently hot to make them shoot forth, warm the two tubs; fill one of them with earth well dunged; sow your seeds, thus prepared, in one of them, and cover it with the other tub; you must then be careful to sprinkle it with warm water as often as may be necessary. Then carry the two tubs closely joined, taking care they cover each other, into a warm vault, or cellar, and at the end of fifteen days you may gather a fine salad.

1108. _To preserve Strawberry Plants from the Heat of the Sun, &c._--Sir Joseph Banks, from a variety of experiments, and the experience of many years, recommends a general revival of the now almost obsolete practice of laying straw under strawberry-plants, when the fruit begins to swell; by which means the roots are shaded from the sun, the waste of moisture by evaporation prevented, the leaning fruit kept from damage by resting on the ground, particularly in wet weather, and much labor in watering saved. Twenty trusses of long straw are sufficient for 1800 feet of plants.

1109. _Directions for managing Strawberries in Summer._--On the management of strawberries in June and July, the future prosperity of them greatly depends; and if each plant has not been kept separate, by cutting off the runners, they will be in a state of confusion, and you will find three different sorts of plants.

1. Old plants, whose roots are turned black, hard, and woody.

2. Young plants, not strong enough to flower.

3. Flowering plants, which ought only to be there, and perhaps not many of them.

Before the time of flowering is quite over, examine them, and pull up every old plant which has not flowered; for, if once they have omitted to flower, you may depend upon it they never will produce any after, being too old, and past bearing; but to be fully convinced, leave two or three, set a stick to them, and observe them the next year.

If the young plants, runners of last year, be too thick, take some of them away, and do not leave them nearer than a foot of the scarlet, alpines, and wood, and fifteen or sixteen inches of all the larger sorts; and in the first rainy weather in July or August, take them all up, and make a fresh plantation with them, and they will be very strong plants for flowering next year.

Old beds, even if the plants be kept single at their proper distance, examine, and pull all the old plants which have not flowered.

When the fruit is nearly all gathered, examine them again, and cut off the runners; but if you want to make a fresh plantation, leave some of the two first, and cut off all the rest. Then stir up the ground with a trowel, or three-pronged fork, and in August they will be fit to transplant.

If you have omitted in July, do not fail in August, that the runners may make good roots, to be transplanted in September; for, if later, the worms will draw them out of the ground, and the frost afterwards will prevent them from striking root; the consequence of which is, their not flowering the next spring; and you will lose a year.

1110. _To cultivate the common Garden Rhubarb._--It is not enough to give it depth of good soil, but it must be watered in drought; and in winter must be well covered with straw or dung. If this is attended to, your rhubarb will be solid when taken out of the ground; and your kitchen, if a warm one, will soon fit it for use.

1111. _Method of cultivating and curing Turkey Rhubarb from Seed._--The seed should be sown about the beginning of February, on a bed of good soil, (if rather sandy, the better) exposed to an east or west aspect in preference to the south; a full sun being prejudicial to the vegetation of the seeds, and to the plants whilst young.

The seeds are best sown moderately thick, (broad cast) treading them regularly in, as is usual with parsnips and other light seeds, and then raking the ground smooth. When the season is wet, make a bed for sowing the rhubarb seeds upon, about two feet thick, with new dung from the stable, covering it near one foot thick with good soil. The intent of this bed is not for the sake of warmth, but solely to prevent the rising of earth-worms, which in a moist season will frequently destroy the young crop.

If the seed is good, the plants often rise too thick; if so, when they have attained six leaves, they should be taken up carefully, (where too close), leaving the standing crop eight or ten inches apart: those taken up may be planted at the same distance in a fresh spot of ground, in order to furnish other plantations. When the plants in general are grown to the size that cabbage-plants are usually set out for a standing crop, they are best planted where they are to remain, in beds four feet wide, one row along the middle of the bed, leaving two yards' distance between the plants, allowing an alley between the beds about a foot wide, for conveniency of weeding the plants.

In the autumn, when the decayed leaves are removed, if the shoveling of the alleys is thrown over the crowns of the plants, it will be found of service.

1112. _Cultivation of Turkey Rhubarb, by offsets._--Slip off several offsets from the heads of large plants; set them with a dibble about a foot apart, in order to remove them into other beds; and, in the autumn, they will be in a thriving state.

1113. _Method of curing Rhubarb._--The plants may be taken up, either early in the spring or in autumn, when the leaves are decayed, in dry weather, if possible: when the roots are to be cleared from dirt, (without washing,) let them be cut into pieces, and, with a sharp knife, freed from the outer coat, and exposed to the sun and air for a few days, to render the outside a little dry.

In order to accelerate the curing of the largest pieces, a hole may be scooped out with a pen-knife; these and the smaller parts are then to be strung on packthread, and hung up in a warm room, where it is to remain till perfectly dry. Each piece may be rendered more sightly by a common file, fixing it in a small vice during that operation; afterwards rub over it a very fine powder, which the small roots furnish in beautiful perfection, for this and every other purpose where rhubarb is required.

An easier and simpler method of drying rhubarb is, after cutting the root into handsome pieces, to wrap up each separately, in one or more pieces of whitish-brown paper, and then to place them on the hob of a common Bath stove. Lemon and orange-peel dry beautifully in this way.

1114. _Proper Soil for the culture of Turnips._--Sandy loams, in good heart, are most favorable to their growth, though they will thrive well on strong loams, if they are not wet; but on clayey, thin, or wet soils, they are not worth cultivating; for though a good crop may be raised on such ground, when well prepared and dunged, more damage is done by taking off the turnips in winter, in poaching the soil, than the value of the crop will repay.

1115. _Preservation of Succulent Plants._--Green succulent plants are better preserved after a momentary immersion in boiling water, than otherwise. This practice has been successfully used in the preservation of cabbage and other plants, dried for keeping; it destroys the vegetable life at once, and, in a great degree, prevents that decay which otherwise attends them.

1116. _Various useful properties of Tobacco to Gardeners._--Tobacco is employed for so many different uses, that there is no person possessed of a garden but will find both pleasure and profit in the cultivation of it, especially as it is now at such a high price. The seed is very cheap, and may be procured of most nurserymen, and will answer the same end as the foreign for most purposes, and considerably cheaper.

_Uses to which it may be applied._--1. To florists, for two elegant annual plants to decorate the borders of the flower-garden; or, on account of their height, to fill up vacant places in the shrubberies; or, when put into pots, they will be very ornamental in the green-house during the winter.

2. Kitchen-gardeners would in a few days lose their crops of melons, if not immediately fumigated with tobacco-smoke, when attacked by the red spider; and it is useful to destroy the black flies on cucumbers in frames.

3. Fruit-gardeners. When peach and nectarine-trees have their leaves curled up, and the shoots covered with smother-flies; or, the cherry-trees have the ends of the shoots infested with the black dolphin-fly; canvas, pack-sheets, or doubled mats, nailed before them, and frequently fumigated under them, will destroy those insects.

4. Forcing-gardeners, who raise roses and kidney-beans in stoves, can soon destroy the green flies which cover the stalks and buds of roses, and the insects which appear like a mildew on kidney-beans, by the assistance of the fumigating bellows.

5. Nurserymen. When the young shoots of standard cherry-trees, or any other trees, are covered with the black dolphin-flies, an infusion is made with the leaves and stalks of tobacco; a quantity is put into an earthen pan, or small, oblong wooden trough; one person holds this up, whilst another gently bends the top of each tree, and lets the branches remain about a minute in the liquor, which destroys them.

6. Graziers, when their sheep are infected with the scab, find relief from making a sheep-water with an infusion of the leaves and stalks. Moles, when only a few hills are at first observed, may probably be soon driven out of the ground, by fumigating their holes.

7. Herb tobacco is also greatly improved by having some of the leaves, when dried, cut with a pair of scissors, and mixed with the herbs in any quantity you may think proper, according to the strength you require, and save you the expense of buying tobacco.

The herbs generally used for this purpose are colt's-foot and wood betony-leaves; the leaves and flowers of lavender, rosemary, thyme, and some others of the like nature.

THE ORCHARD.

1117. _To prevent Blossom and Fruit-trees from being damaged by early Spring Frost._--If a rope (a hempen one, it is presumed) be introduced among the branches of a fruit-tree in blossom, and the end of it brought down, so as to terminate in a bucket of water; and, should a slight frost take place in the night-time, in that case the tree will not be affected by the frost; but a film of ice, of considerable thickness, will be formed on the surface of the bucket in which the rope's-end is immersed, although it has often happened that another bucket of water, placed beside it for the sake of experiment, has had no ice at all upon it.

1118. _Chinese mode of propagating Fruit-trees._--The ingenious people of China have a common method of propagating several kinds of fruit-trees, which of late years has been practised with success in Bengal. The method is simply this:--They strip a ring of bark, about an inch in width, from a bearing branch, surround the place with a ball of fat earth, or loam, bound fast to the branch with a piece of matting: over this they suspend a pot or horn, with water, having a small hole in the bottom just sufficient to let the water drop, in order to keep the earth constantly moist. The branch throws new roots into the earth just above the place where the ring of bark was stripped off. The operation is performed in the spring, and the branch is sawed off and put into the ground at the fall of the leaf. The following year it will bear fruit.

1119. _To improve Fruit-trees by attention to the Color of the Soil._--The color and also the quality of soils have an effect on the color and flavor of fruits--even on the color of many flowers. The effects of the color of soils on that of fruits, are most perceptible on the delicate kinds, such as grapes, peaches, &c.; but to a nice observer, it extends in a greater or less degree to all fruits. For instance, if two black Hamburgh grapes, made from the cuttings of the same plant, shall be planted, the one in a dry, hazelly loam, and the other in a moist, black earth, the fruit of the one will be brown, or of a grizzly color, and the other very dark red or black; and the grape will be more juicy, though better in flavor, than the other grown in a dryer soil.

1120. _To increase the Growth in Trees._--It may be depended upon as a fact, that by occasionally washing the stems of trees, their growth will be greatly increased; for several recent experiments have proved, that all the ingredients of vegetation united, which are received from the roots, stem, branches, and leaves of a mossy and dirty tree, do not produce half the increase either in wood or fruit, that another gains whose stem is clean. It is clearly obvious, that proper nourishment cannot be received from rain, for the dirty stem will retain the moisture longer than when clean; and the moss and dirt will absorb the finest parts of the dew, and likewise act as a screen, by depriving the tree of that share of sun and air which it requires.

A common scrubbing-brush and clean water is all that is necessary, only care must be observed not to injure the bark.

1121. _To prevent Hares and Rabbits from Barking young Plantations._--Hares, rabbits, and rats, have a natural antipathy to tar; but tar, though fluid, contracts, when exposed to the sun and air for a time, a great dryness and a very binding quality; and if applied to trees in its natural state, will occasion them to be bark-bound. To remove this difficulty, tar is of so strong a savor, that a small quantity mixed with other things, in their nature open and loose, will give the whole mixture such a degree of its own taste and smell, as will prevent hares, &c., touching what it is applied to.

Take any quantity of tar, and six or seven times as much grease, stirring and mixing them well together; with this composition brush the stems of young trees, as high as hares, &c., can reach; and it will effectually prevent their being barked.

1122. _Bad effects of Iron Nails, &c., on Fruit-trees, or mischievous effects of Iron Nails, in conjunction with Branches of Fruit-trees._--It often happens that some of the limbs of fruit-trees, trained against a wall, are blighted and die, while others remain in a healthy and flourishing state. This has been hitherto erroneously attributed to the effects of lightning; but, from closer observation, and from several experiments, it has been found to arise from the corroding effects of the rust of the nails and cramps with which trees in this situation are fastened. To avoid this inconvenience, therefore, it requires only to be careful in preventing the iron from coming in contact with the bark of the trees.

1123. _To destroy Moss on Trees._--Remove it with a hard scrubbing-brush, in February and March, and wash the trees with cow-dung, urine, and soap-suds.

1124. _Necessity of taking off superfluous Suckers from Shrubs._--Many flowering shrubs put out strong suckers from the root, such as lilacs, syringa, and some of the kinds of roses, which take greatly from the strength of the mother-plant; and which, if not wanted for the purpose of planting next season, should be twisted off, or otherwise destroyed.

1125. _To cure the Disease in Apple-trees._--Brush off the white down, clear off the red stain underneath it, and anoint the places infected with a liquid mixture of train-oil and Scotch-snuff.

1126. _To cure the Canker in Trees._--Cut them off to the quick, and apply a piece of sound bark from any other tree, and bind it on with a flannel roller. Cut off the canker, and a new shoot will grow strong, but in a year or two you will find it cankered.

1127. _A method of curing Fruit-trees infected with an Easterly Blight._--Where valuable fruit-trees are infected with this blight, they may, with little trouble and expense be in a short time cured, by fumigating them with brimstone strewed on lighted charcoal; this effectually kills it; but the workman must observe to get to windward of the trees, as the fumes, both of brimstone and charcoal, are very offensive and pernicious.

Mr. Miller recommends washing and sprinkling the blighted trees from time to time, with common water, (that is, such as hath not had anything steeped in it,) and the sooner that is performed, (whenever we apprehend danger,) the better; and if the young and tender shoots seem to be much infected, wash them with a woollen cloth, so as to clear them, if possible, from all glutinous matter, that their respiration and perspiration may not be obstructed; and if some broad, flat pans, or tubs, are placed near the trees, it will keep their tender parts in a ductile state, and greatly help them; but whenever this operation of washing the trees is performed, it should be early in the day, that the moisture may be exhaled before the cold of the night comes on, especially if the nights are frosty; nor should it be done when the sun shines very hot upon the wall, which would be subject to scorch up the tender blossom.

1128. _Experienced method of healing Wounds in Trees._--This method consists in making a varnish of common linseed oil, rendered very drying, by boiling it, for the space of an hour, with an ounce of litharge to each pound of oil, mixed with calcined bones, pulverized and sifted, to the consistence of an almost liquid paste. With this paste the wounds of trees are to be covered, by means of a brush, after the bark and other substance have been pared, so as to render the whole as smooth and even as possible. The varnish must be applied in dry weather, in order that it may attach itself properly.

1129. _Composition for healing Wounds in Trees._--Take of dry, pounded chalk, _three_ measures; add of common vegetable tar, _one_ measure; mix them thoroughly, and boil them, with a low heat, till the composition becomes of the consistency of bees'-wax: it may be preserved for use, in this state, for any length of time. If chalk cannot conveniently be got, dry brick-dust may be substituted.

_Application._--After the broken or decayed limb has been sawed off, the whole of the _saw-cut_ must be very carefully pared away, and the rough edges of the bark, in particular must be made quite smooth; the doing of this properly is of great consequence; then lay on the above composition, hot, about the thickness of half-a-dollar, over the wounded place, and over the edges of the surrounding bark; it should be spread with a hot trowel.

1130. _To prune Wall Fruit._--Cut off all fresh shoots, however fair they may appear to the eye, that will not, without much bending, be well placed to the wall; for if any branch happen to be twisted or bruised in the bending or turning (which you may not easily perceive), although it may grow and prosper for the present, yet it will decay in time, and the sap or gum will issue from that place.

1131. _To prune Vines to Advantage._--In pruning vines, leave some new branches every year, and take away (if too many) some of the old, which will be of great advantage to the tree, and much increase the quantity of fruit.

When you trim your vine, leave two knots, and cut them off the next time; for, usually, the two buds yield a bunch of grapes. Vines, thus pruned, have been known to bear abundantly, whereas others that have been cut close to please the eye, have been almost barren of fruit.

1132. _The most proper Times when Leaves of Trees ought to be collected for pharmaceutical and economical Purposes._--It is at that period when the plant is in full flower, that the leaves possess their full virtue. They drop off when their particular life has terminated.

TIMBER.

1133. _To promote the Growth of Forest-trees._--It is highly to be censured, the neglect of permitting ivy-twines, which grow to forest-trees, to remain attached to them. Their roots entering into the bark, rob the trees of much of their nourishment; they in a manner strangle their supporters, by impeding the circulation of their juices, and in time destroy the trees. They should be torn up by the roots, for, if any part of them adhere to the tree, they will spread, as they obtain nourishment by their adhering roots.

1134. _White-washing the Trunks of Trees, recommended._--Being one day upon a visit (observes Mr. Northmore, who recommends this experiment) at my friend's near Yarmouth, in the Isle of Wight, I remarked that several of the trunks of trees in his orchard had been covered with whitewash; upon inquiring the reason, he replied, that he had done it with a view to keep off the hares, and other animals, and that it was attended not only with that good effect, but several others, for it made the rind smooth and compact, by closing up the cracks; it entirely destroyed the moss; and as the rains washed off the lime, it manured the roots. These several advantages, derived from so simple a practice, deserve to be more generally known. The white-wash is made in the usual manner with lime, and may be applied twice, or oftener, if necessary.

1135. _To cure Wounds in Trees._--Wounds in trees are best cured by covering them with a coat of common lead paint without turpentine (for turpentine is poison to vegetation) in the sun, on a fine dry day.

1136. _Trees for Shade, Nursery Trees, &c._--Forest Trees selected for shade should be of kinds not liable to be attacked by worms and insects. The rock or sugar maple is always remarkably free from worms, and it makes the most dense and beautiful shade of all our deciduous trees. This is becoming a very popular tree, and we hope to see it extensively propagated. There is no more risk in transplanting this than the elm, and the limbs are not liable to be broken by the winds and snow.

We believe it is generally admitted that transplanted trees succeed best when their early growth has been in soil similar to that for which they are destined to be placed permanently. If raised in such a soil, and transplanted to that which is thin and poor, they seem to receive a shock from which with difficulty they recover. As a gentleman once remarked, it is like feeding a calf with all the milk he will take till he is six months old, and then suddenly turning him off to live on a short pasture.

Large trees may be as successfully planted as small ones. The mode and result of an experiment made by Messrs. Pomeroy and Dutton, of Utica, are thus given: Those gentlemen transplanted trees, comprising maples, elm, beech, &c., some thirty feet in height, which were transplanted without being shorn of any of their branches. The process of removal was as follows:--In the fall, before the frost, a trench was dug around the trees selected, from ten to fifteen feet in diameter, and the roots severed. In the winter when the ground had become solid from freezing, the trees were pulled out by the aid of oxen and levers, with the mass of earth firmly attached to the roots. They were then transported erect on a strong sled, built for the purpose, and set out.

These trees grew in open land, a mile and a half from the city. They put on their foliage last spring, as if wholly unconscious that they were not still in their native soil, and the enterprising gentlemen who undertook this unusual course, are rewarded with shade trees which by the old practice it would have required twenty years to produce.

Summer pruning is sometimes necessary in order to give form and proper direction to nursery trees, and standard trees may need thinning, in order to expose the fruit to light and air; but in pruning trees thoroughly, particularly if large limbs are to be cut off, it is best to defer the business till the last of July, August, or the former part of September.

Late in summer and early in autumn, the bark does not peel as it does early in the summer, when it often starts from the tree which is injured by going into trees and stepping on limbs with hard shoes. The sap will ooze out of some trees early in summer, which not only injures them generally, but it often causes the wounded part to decay.

But in late pruning, the wood, when the branch is cut off, becomes sound and well seasoned; and though it may not heal over so readily as when cut early in summer or spring, it remains in a healthy state.

1137. _To preserve Wood in Damp Situations._--Two coats of the following preparation are to be applied, after which the wood is subject to no deterioration whatever from humidity. Twelve pounds of resin are to be beaten in a mortar, to which three pounds of sulphur and twelve pints of whale oil are to be added. This mixture is to be melted over the fire, and stirred during the operation. Ochre, reduced to an impalpable powder, by triturating it with oil, may then be combined in the proportion necessary to give either a lighter or a darker color to the material. The first coat should be put on lightly, having been previously heated; the second may be applied in two or three days, and a third after an equal interval, if from the peculiar dampness of the situation it should be judged expedient.

_Remark._--It is highly probable (though the experiment has not been tried) that this composition would be improved by adding a small portion of the liquid leather, which is now commonly sold in London, being the refuse of the purification of fish oil by tar.

Where the work will bear the expense, and is not exposed to a heat of more than 130 degrees of Fahrenheit, the best composition is the following: Equal parts of turpentine (the fluid resin, not the essential oil), bees'-wax, black resin and maltha, or coal tar, boiled together till they cease to rise--that is, till the white cream or scum proceeding from the separation of the essential oil disappears. Apply it warm with a turpentine brush--two or three coats, to cover the cracks or pores left by the brush. This lute was first proposed by Chaptal, without the addition of the coal tar, which is a great improvement. A piece of wood covered with three coats of it, and immersed for two years in water, was found to be quite dry on cutting off the lute.

Take care not to allow water to fall into the pan, as it would make the hot materials explode. If the composition catch fire, put on the cover directly, and remove the pan for an instant from the fire.

1138. _Cause and Prevention of the Dry Rot._--The cause of the dry rot in wood is moisture; and to prevent well-dried timber from decaying above or under ground, is done by charring it well.