The Southern field and fireside. (Augusta, Ga.) 1859-1864, July 09, 1859, Page 55, Image 7

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possession, we have to retain a few ditches, not many; but in situations where no gullies inter fere it is rare that a ditch is needed. This can be easily tested, however. For after a field is cul tivated on a perfect level, if owing to the texture of the land, or other causes, breaks begin to ap pear at any point on a hill-side, a ditch should be run immediately from that point to the near est outlet. AVe have noticed these breaks some times, and supposed a considerable wash would be formed by tracing them; but soon the water would come to a stand, and run over the bed of the row in a number of contiguous places, until finally the breaks would be so numerous and so small, as to be of but little consequence. The next plowing would wipe them all out. Many objections have been raised to level culture, but we have never found one to hold against the system. Most generally they are founded on the imperfect manner with which the objec tors do their work, and not against the system itself. ‘ Our method is to have guide rows run on a perfect level from ten to thirty or even fifty yards apart, according to the steepness of the hills and their irregularity; filling in all the space between with com and cotton rows, as the case may be. Should any considerable ir regularity occur by which the rows are thrown off of a level, another guide row must bo run in the intermediate space. This is very important, as at these points gullies are more likely to be made. The short rows should taper at the ends, by closing up nearly one half of the original width, otherwise the long rows passing on each side of a short one, will have to be double the proper width for some distance, or make a sud den curve around it. Under this process there are much fewer short rows than under any other system of horizontalizing. Many run their rows on a partial level, leaving a hedge where the turn is rather sudden, as on the top of a ridge, where the rows terminate. This plan lies open to the objection of having more short rows, and not being on a perfect level either. AVe are pleased to see, however, that all planters here, who have any respectability as agricul turalists, have adopted in some form the level culture, insomuch that nothing looks more bar barous than rows run up and down the hills, as in the olden time. This, we feel assured, when perfected, will be the system throughout the country, never to be superceded by any other, until labor becomes so cheap and lands so high as to warrant the more perfect but more expen sive system of terracing. Indeed, we can con ceive of a plan by which land can bo thrown into terraces by suitably constructed plows without so much expense as would appear at first view, so that each row might be upon a level plain as well as in a horizontal line. This, however, will have to be the project of a future age. Sparta, Ga. P. i»> MANURE FOR GRASSES. The editor of the Genesee Farmer , who has studied the food of plants with equal diligence and success, makes the following remarks on the subject of manure for grasses : “ Nearly all the experiments which have been mado with artificial manures for grasses, indi cate that, like wheat, barley, oats, etc., the grasses proper—such as timothy, rye-grass, etc, —require a large amount of ammonia. In the park at Rothamsted, which lias been in grass for a great number of years, and the crop frequent ly made into hay removed from the land, ma nures containing much ammonia were very bene ficial on the grasses, wliile those furnishing pot ash, soda, and other inorganic substances, had the effect of causing clover and other legumin ous plants to spring up and flourish. This effect was very marked, and the result fully sustains the deductions made from direct experiments on clover, wheat, barley, etc. AVe are warranted in concluding that clover and other leguminous plants require a larger amount of alkalies in the soils than wheat and the grasses generally, while the latter require manure rich in ammonia. ‘ Some experiments recently mado in Scotland, by Thomas Ferguson, also favor this opinion. Land recently seeded with rye-grass and clover, was top-dressed with various fertilizers. Those furnishing a free supply of nitric acid, increased the rye-grass to such an extent ‘that the clover plant was choked, and came up very thin in the aftermath.’ One hundred and twelve pounds of sulphate of ammonia, costing $4 50, gave an increase of fifteen hundred and twenty-four pounds of hay per acre; two hundred and twenty-four pounds of Peruvian guano, costing six dollars, an increase of twelve hundred and sixty pounds ; ono hundred and twolvo pounds nitrate of soda, costing five dollars, an increase of sixteen hundred and forty pounds; two hun dred and eighty pounds of super-pliosphate of lime, costing six dollars, an increase of pounds, while sulphate and muriate of potash gave an increase of only thirty pounds. “In another field, on a two year old pasture, an application of five dollar’s worth of guano ‘at least doubled the outlay in grass,’as also the sul phate of ammonia and nitrate of soda, all of which thickened the grass plants, besides giv ing them a quick growth.” From the Country Gentleman. CULTURE OF VETCHES. Messrs. Editors : Having seen an article in your paper some time ago, in reference to “A retch es,” and having been asked by several agricultu rists if vetches are as profitable in this country a? in England, I havo pleasure in informing you, for the benefit of my fellow agriculturists, that two years ago I imported a small quantity for trial, and I have pleasure in stating that the ex periment has been far beyond my most sanguino expectations. I have tried it on all kinds of laud, and it has done well on each, but I consider high land the best. Have sown it on a piece of rocky land, where there was not over four inches of soil, and the crop was abundant. I have mowed it three times in ono season (upon com mon clay land) for my horses. I have also cut it once for feed, and left the second growth for seed, which returned twenty bushels per acre. I should also inform you that my cattle have been fed upon the vetch straw this winter, and I consider it muen superior to feed with than any other kind of straw. A. AVoolford, Lyn, Canada West. — Cranberries and Huckleberries. —Ocean county, N. J., has long been celebrated for the quantity and quality of her huckleberries and cranberries, and hundreds of thousands of bush els are annually sent to market. The profit on the crop, on good land, is from one hundred to five hundred dollars per acre, and the appear ance of both, at the present time, is said to be very promising. — Hog Cholera. —AVe understand that this disease is prevailing to an alarming extent in tho upper portion of this county, some planters having lost nearly the whole of their stock of hogs from it. It is stated that where hogs are kept up in lots they aro not attacked by the disease, while those farmers who permit their animals to run at largo have suffered greatly. Memphis Avalanche. A I \l IyJ CM mu sour kk mt spxas&& vx3ussx&& [Written for the Southern Field and Fireside.] MONTHLY STATEMENT OF THE WEATHER AND CROPS. The amount of rain falling in the month of June was 2.39 inches. On the 17th, more than one-half of this fell, I.3o—making a good season. The remainder came in small sliowei s, at dif ferent times, the largest of which was on the 11th—0.25 of an inch. The wannest day was on the 30th, the ther mometer standing at 96 at 2 P. M.—t(ie average heat at that hour being 87$. The amount of cloudy days was as 15.25 to 14.75. This is ascertained by three daily ob servations. which approximates the tmth very closely. But for tho remarkable number of cloudy days (more than one-half!) the crops would have suffered from the small amount of rain. The wheat crop, mainly harvested in May, was about a fortnight earlier than last year. The report from the thrashers is a considerable fall ing off from what was anticipated. This is owing to mildew and leaf rust, which affected all the crops, more or less, and has ruined the oats again in most places. Corn and cotton will average well with other years, as far as the Ist of July. P. Sparta, Ga., July 1. LORD NAPIER OIT&MERICAN AGRICULTURE. At the meeting of the United States Agricul tural Society at Richmond, Ya., the late Eng lish Ambassador made a speech, from which we take tho following: AYlien I rise to address the great assembly which has remembered my sovereign and my country, and done me the honor of recognizing my presence at this festival, I reflect with satis faction that however ignorant of the noble in dustry to which you are devoted, and however incapable of justly appreciating the efforts and services which you are rendering in its cause, I may still rank myself, though in a subordinate order, among the true sons and votaries of tho soil. I remember, with pleasure, that my father was an unsuccessful farmer, though a success ful writer on the art of fanning. I belong to a class whose interests and affections are deeply rooted in the land—a class whose active age is much bestowed on the business of Parliament, or negotiation, or civil government, or the pro fession of arms, but whose thoughts in all the vicissitudes of life and strife still repose upon the fields and sports, and who ever dream of a late return to the hereditary home. Notwithstand ing this foreign vagrancy and diplomatic deser tion, I remain a member of the Highland Society of Scotland; and however incredible it may ap pear to you, I am President of the Pastoral As sociation of my native country, for the improve ment of the breed of sheep. AVith such instincts and associations, you will believe that I do not feel altogether a stranger here, and that I am deeply gratified by the hearty welcome that I find from the brotherhood of agriculturists, in which I claim to bo an affiliated, though at pre sent an unfruitful member. The husbandly of America presents in its vast extension and rapid progress a spectacle to which no Englishman can remain indifferent. History offers no example of this swift, resistless, un ceasing encroachment of skilled labor over the vacant and fertile domain of the savage and the brute. It is the first triumph of man, equipped with all the aecumidatcd powers of experience and invention, over nature in her largest limits and her most gracious and bountifid conditions. In tho agriculture of the United States we see with exultation a beneficent and spontaneous profession iff industry, of which tin? field is the American continent, and of which the implement is the Anglo-Saxon arm. ***** * AA'hile recognizing all the importance of the land and tho agriculture of the United States to the social welfare of the British empire, I cannot deny myself the pleasure of expressing to you the interest which, as a mere virtuoso in rural matters, I havo taken in the external aspect of American husbandry. In some respgets the pros pect is often indeed unsatisfactory to the Eng lish eye. In the new parts of the country the primitive graces of the landscape are ruthlessly violated, while the artificial trimness to which wo are accustomed has not begun. AVe mourn over the blackened and girdled giant of the for est, each of which would be the sylvan honor of an English homestead; our fastidious taste com plains that tho furrow' is not straight, that the wheat is not clean, that tho swamp is not drain ed, that the sward bristles with obnoxious stumps; that there is a general absence of root, or green crops, and w r e discover a great defi ciency of sheep. In the regions which have lieen longest under the plow, the vital forces of the soil seem to have been frequently overtaxed; the more valuable cereals aro abandoned, and here and there the wilderness resumes its sway. It requires but little reflection to show that these phenomena aro the natural and transitory con comitants of the first epoch of tillage, which is hasty, pitiless, and impoverishing. On the other hand, I remark that in many portions of tho Union there are extensive tracts which would be considered opulent and well ordered in any European kingdom. In the absence of turnipc, potatoes, and mangcl-w'urzel, the English travel er is gratified by the spectacle of Indian com, tobacco, and the vine; and further South by the cotton plant, tho rice field, and the cane—all magnificent and lucrative productions, unknown to British husbandry. Thero is also a greater abundance of fruit trees; the breed of horses equals that of the mother country, except, I think, for the purposes of heavy draft; and the various races of cattle, replenished by importations of the best blood of England, will be propagated with out degeneracy, and will be formidable rivals to tho parent stock. In a country whore human labor is exorbi tantly expensive, the greatest ingenuity is exert ed in the improvement of tools and the inven tion of mechanical aids and substitutes, and in this respect the triumphs of American contriv ances are not only profitable at home, but are recognized and adopted by foreign nations. Much, gentlemen, has been accomplished, and the fu ture will furnish still higher results. If w T o re gard the dissemination of intelligence, the diffu sion of tastes for rural pursuits, the increased application of capital, the scientific inspection of soils, tho discriminating use of manures, the de velopment of the home market, and the general establishment of competive exhibitions, wo may safely affirm that American agriculture has en tered upon a period which will not only be re parative where the past was exhaustive, but which will gradually carry' the land in every quarter to a high pitch of productiveness and beauty.— Genesee Fanner. - Japan Peak — A correspondent of the Indiana Farmer states that the Japan pear are now raised in that section in sufficient quantity to sell for ten cents per quart, for cooking and for seed.— He says “ there is not a man who is fond of a leguminous dish that would not relish them, perhaps as well as he would a dish of Lima beans.” They should be steeped in water twenty four hours before cooking. This is absolutely necessary. HORTICULTURAL. Vfl, N. WHITE, Editor. SATURDAY JULY 9, 1559. BOOK NOTICES. Downing’s Landscape Gardening-' A Treatise on tile Theory ami Practice of Landscape Gardening, adapted to North’America; with a view to the improvement of country residences, comprising historical notices, and the general principle's of the art, directions for laying ont grounds and arranging plantations, the descriptions and cultivation of hardy trees, decorative accompaniments of the house and grounds, the formation of pieces of artificial water, flower gardens, etc, with remarks on Rural archi tecture ;by the late A. J. Downing, Esq., sixth edition, enlarged, revised, and newly illustrated, with a supple ment. containing some remarks about country places, and the best methods of making them; also, aii account of the newer deciduous and evergreen plants, lately intro duced into cultivation, both hardy and half hardy ; by llkxry Winthkop Sargent; New York, A. 0. Moore and Co. The publishers have favored us with a copy of their new edition of Downing’s Landscape Gardening, a book which needs no commenda tion. The first attempt at literary production, of an unknown author barely twenty-five years of age, its own intrinsic merits in matter and style brought it at once into notice; and it has since been universally acknowledged the stand ard in all that relates to this art. It is still a con stant companion with all undertaking to lay out or adorn a country seat. The first copy we ever saw we wore glad to borrow, and well remember the expedition and zest with which its contents were devoured, being alike attractive from tho novelty of the matter to us, and the graceful diffuseness of the author’s style. It was em phatically a book we could not be without, and Our own copy has ever continued to be con stantly referred to; and among the many treatises that have since appeared on the same subject, none have displaced or equalled our favorite author. The merits of Mr. Downing’s work were such that even in England where the art in its higher manifestations originated, Loudon pro nounced it “ a masterly performance,” and Lind let, smothering his avowed dislike of everything American, acknowledges, “on the whole, we know of no work in which tho fundamental principles of this profession are so well and so clearly ex pressed and again, “no English Landscape Gardener has written so clearly or with so much real intensity.” The book appeared at a fortunate period, when in all of our large cities there were men of wealth growing weary of commerce and ea ger for a refined country life. This nascent taste was vivified by a perusal of our author, and to him they went to learn how to build their dwellings, how to lay out their grounds, and the influence of this, and other books of the author on this subject, are now manifest in every town in the laud. It is eighteen years since the original work appeared. Large nurseries of ornamental trees have since then sprung up, the colonization of California, Fortune's explorations in China, and the researches of botanical collectors in all parts of the earth, have vastly increased the number of trees and shrubs suitable for landscape adorn ment. These new varieties required to be de scribed and incorporated in the work, while suf ficient time has elapsed to determine the hardi hood and value of others which had been new ly introduced when the work was written, and of whose merits, or demerits, the author could not speak decidedly. Hence, a revision of the onginal treatise was required with sucli additions as should bring it up to the present state of our knowledge, and, fortunately for reader and pub lisher, a friend and neighbor of the author, H. AV. Sargent, Esq., a man of kindred tastes and larger experience, undertook the task. A plea sant morning stroll, throe years since, over his place at AVodenotlie, opposite Newburg, N. Y., satisfied us of his eminent ability in creating a beautiful country seat. Mr. Sargent has ex perimented more largely in planting the more recently introduced trees and shrubs than any othor man in the country. The experience of others, derived from a correspondence with resi dents in all sections of the Union, he has added to his own, and embodied the whole in a supple ment of ono hundred and fifty pages to Mr. Dow ning’s original treatise. In this supplement he tells first, in a general manner, how to make a country place, what to do, and what to avoid. As a specimen of the author’s clearness of style, as well as tho correctness of his taste in these matters, we copy tho following: “A common error, and we think a very decided one, is the anxiety to have flowers and flowering shrubs, while the place is still in tiie rough, and before we know where to put them with propriety. “A very usual employment of new grounds immediately adjacent to the house,’is the most injudicious and tasteless admixture of decapitat ed forest-trees and dahlias, with roses, ever greens, roses, altheas, and the various common plants, indiscriminately put together, a few inches, or at most a sow feet apart, in tho coarse weedy grass, which is the best apology for a lawn which could be got up in tho time—ex posed to the carelessness of workmen and the depredations of roadside cattle. AA r o have seen even avenues—and in places too where other wise there aro evidences of good taste—planted with alternate rows of forest trees and dahlias, with an occasional rose tree or geranium.— Nothing, we conceive, can be in worse taste than this; for though nothing can be prettier than a rose in a rose garden, properly surrounded by the most refined and ornamental shrubs, liko a jewel in an appropriate setting; yet, can anything be more improper and discordant than the same rose in a stubble field, or, what is quite as inappro priate, in the rough and ill kept grounds of a raw and unfinished place? Refinement must be associated wjth and surrounded by refinement, or it loses half its charm. AVe hear of, and sometimes see, a rough diamond, but no one, wo think, will pretend to say that the same diamond polished and properly sot is not infinitely more attractive.” Price of the work, $3.50. BEST MODE OF PRESERVING FRUITS. AVe have had the past three seasons in our i own family a good deal of experience in putting ! up fruits in cans, and besides, have received some valuable hints from a neighbor, who has prepared several tons for market the last two years. Our first year’s experiments were not , very satisfactory; but our present losses are absolutely nothing, unless there is some air hole ; in the can. The past year we did not lose one per cent, of those put up, and nowjgivo our read ers the results of our experience. Tin cans, so > well soddered that they are completely air-tight, answer perfectly for many fruits, but the more acid sorts corrode the can more or less, and fla vor the fruits with the salts of tin. This is ’ more apt to be the case with tomatoes and red juiced fruits. Generally, however, if the cans are perfectly air-tight, there is very little action of the fruits upon them, and as the tin quickly heats through, fruits are more likely to keep well in it than in glass or earthenware, which often, not having been heated sufficiently, lowers the temperature of tho fruit so much that the air is not entirely driven off, and from this cause the fruit often spoils. For our own use, and especially for all acid fruits, we prefer glazed pottery, or glass; the former is not so liable to leakage, but glass has the great advantage that the fruit is always ready for inspection, and its precise condition is always apparent. For cheapness, convenience, or safe ty, the fruit bottle invented by T. G. Yeomans, of AValworth, New York, has no superior. Os these we procured a supply last season, not one of which gave us any trouble. The mouth of the bottle is large enough to admit the fruit readily, and is closed with a cork which rests upon a shoulder within the mouth of the bottle, so that it cannot be driven in by the pressure of tho atmosphere; while, above tho cork, is left sufficient room for the melted wax. Good wax is made with a pound of rosin, an ounce of bees wax, and an ounce of tallow, (some add more wax,) melted together. After the jars have been sealed half an hour or so, examine to see if it has been perfectly performed. For ordinary use, the lialf gallon size will be found most conve nient; though a few of less size are desirable to put in what may remain after filling larger sizes, from the amount prepared at once. Peaches for putting up should be hulled and halved. Apples, pears, and quinces, in addi tion, should have the cores removed, and be cut smaller than peaches. Berries should be worked, and picked over carefully, and all used while freshly gathered. In putting up fruit the safest receipt for )>e giuners is to use not less thtfn two pounds of sugar to five of fruit. Os the more acid kinds half a pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is not toojmuch. , Put a layer of fruit, then one of sugar, into a preserving kettle, and so on until the ves ' sel is two-thirds full, and cover it with a suitable tin cover; after a little juice is extracted by tho sugar put them over the lire and boil five min utes. Meanwhile tho jars should be brought nearly to the temperature of boiling water. — Proceed now to fill the jars with the fruit, aud fill the spaces between the pieces with the hot syrup. Wipe off any syrup about the sealing place and seal up at once. Tho above arc th 6 general rules. Peaches are better flavored if allcdfed to boil but one minute, but will be more likely not to keep well. Clingstones are the best, and will not suffer as quick as the froestono from over boiling. Quinces, and apples, and pears, all but the more juicy ones, should bo stewed soft in a little water before tho sugar is added. Tomatoes should be peeled, boiled down one half in their own juice, and put up at once; no addition of sugar is required. If the foregoing points are kept in mind there will be found no difficulty in tho matter. AVe re peat them. The can must bo really air-tight, (in this re spect many of the tin cans are defective). The fruit itself must be fresh, and tho air completely expelled from it by bringing the entire mass of ' fruit up to the boiling point. When hot, place it immediately in tho cans or heated jars and see ' that all interstices are filled with the hot syrup. Fill the vessel entirely, wipe off any juice that may have fallen upon the top, and seal it at once and perfectly. Examine if the seal continues perfect until cold. If not, heat over the fruit im mediately and re-seal it. — - From the Country Gentleman. BRINE A CURE FOR WARTS. Messrs. Editors: Having seen in tho March number of the Cultivator , a recommendation of a method of curing warts on horses, which seems to me to be very cruel, I am induced to write my experience in curing them, believing that warts have ono origin, and are the same, and the same remedy will cure, on whatever animal they may be found. It is some years since I saw a young man in Salem, Mass., the back of whose hands were literally covered with warts, many of them large and seedy, and very troublesome. I told him to go and wash his hands in the tide water in the floom, (he worked in a tide mill,) three times a day for ono week, and to use plenty of soap, and in a few weeks his warts would be among the missing. He took my advice, and tho warts left in about two months. Cows often have warts on their udders. I have seen many, and some very bad, which I have cured by simply washing them after milk ing, for one or two weeks, with brine, which is my only remedy, and has never failed of a cure. Markesan, AVis. S. P. —.- Hat Seed for Hogs.— A correspondent of the Country Gentleman writes: In addition to the j grain and meal given to growing hogs in tho ( sty, they should have a daily allowance of green clover; or in winter, when this is not available, a liberal allowance of hay seed from the bam, mixed with their sljp, which they will eat with ( avidity. Ho known of no mode by which so j great an amount of growth and weight can be induced with equal oost of food, in the winter 1 season, as by this haying system. Genesee Farmer. HORTIC ULTURAL OPERATIONS FOR JOLT. Vegetable Garden.—Continue to gather and ■ store the crops of Onions, Irish Potatoes, and seeds of all kinds as they mature, also sage and other sweet and medicinal herbs, while in flower; dry them well before they are stowed. See that all spaces thus left vacant are dug up and re planted with late vegetables. Early and large York cabbages, if now' sown in beds and shaded during the day, will make fair plants for setting out in August, and will head during the autumn. Grown in this way they make fine w'inter cab bages. Sow Ruta Baga and Sweet German Turnips, taking advantage of the first rain; as soon as may be after the 20th of the month, be gin to sow the common kinds. Os these, Early White Dutch, Early Red Top, (Strap Leaves), Yellow Dutch, White Globe, Norfolk and Yellow Aberdeen are all good. Continue sowing at favorable seasons until the last of September. Endive also may be sown for winter use. Beets now planted, sometimes succeed, and are fine all winter; the same may be said of Irish Potatoes. Plant Snap-beans and Corn to give a succession. Peas planted the last of the month bear very well in autumn. Continue to transplant Tomatoes, Celery; and, the last of the montli, the main crop of winter Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brocoli, Ac., should be set out. For these have the ground prepared in advance and laid off in trenches, in which set the plants (see Gardening for the South). A light rain will wet the earth in these trenches sufficiently to make the plants succeed. Trans plant at this season w'ith great care, removing most of the leaves to prevent evaporation, and shading the plant by day. Still keep the ground light by frequent hoeing, guarding it against washing by horizontal culture, banks, and terra cing. At this dry season every drop of water should be retained. Earth up loosely the growing crops. Dig the weeds into the soil, or remove them to the compost heap; use every endeavor to de stroy insects. If your Squash vines die suddenly examine them for, and destroy, the borers in the stem, destroy aphides, Ac., with infusions of tobacco, aloes, whale oil soap, Ac. In the Fruit Garden, gather fruits as they ri pen ; Pears especially lose flavor if ripened on the tree. As soon as they will detach themselves when gently raised by the hand, gather the crop and place on the shelves of the fruit room to ri pen. The Jargonello must be plucked even earlier, or it will be found rotten at the core.— Bartletts and some others will ripen perfectly in the house at any time after the fruit is nearly grown. Peaches for shipments, if freestone, should be plucked as soon as they begin to feel elastic before thoy are so ripe as to retain a mark from the pressure of the fingers; clings, how ever, must be nearly or quite ripe, or they will shrivel; for home use they should ripen on the tree. Apples should be plucked before they are quite ready to drop, and they will be found more juicy. Preserve a supply of fresh fruit in self sealings cans, for winter use. Continue to thin over-loaded trees. Let all the insect-punctured fruit be daily gathered (as it falls) and cooked for stock, or admit young shoats to the orchard to consume it, if you would diminish the insects in your fruit the coming season. Peach-borers are about to leave the tree, and must be exterminated now or never. If not found in their holes, look for and crash the cocoon of agglutinated sawdust in the soil, close by the tree. Destroy the aphides, leaf rollers, and other insects, that infest the vines. Continue to summer prune, as directed last month, removing lateral shoots and suckers from the vine, rubbing off useless shoots, or stop ping them by pinching their extremities; check in like manner the too luxurious shoots of fruit trees, to restore the balance and throw them in to fruit. Do not cut off large limbs when a tree is in a growing state, unless it is over luxuriant, and such a sudden check is needed to throw it into fruit. It takes a tree a long time to get over the shock of a thorough summer pruning. Budding may now be performed. Cleft grafting is often performed successfully, the last of the month, upon the apple, pear, and plum, before the second growth begins. Os varieties now first fruiting, if seedling, ob serve if their quality and mode of boaring are such as to make them worth reserving. If old varieties, note if they are true to name as de scribed in the fruit books. Cut down old raspberry canes that have ceased to bear; allow but six or eight new canes to a stool. Fig bushes keep clear of suckers from the roots. Keep the runners of the strawberry clipped, unless you wish plants, not fruit next season; and let the entire fruit garden be kept free from weeds. In the Flower Garden, gather seeds as they mature. Ripened bulbs may be stored. Let an nuals that have ceased to blossom be removed. Also the seed stalks of perennials as soon as the blossoms fade; so also with the decayed flowers and hips of the rose. Head back Dahlias that have ceased to flower, that they may bloom again on the first growth. Destroy the bugs that in fest them. Top Chrysanthemums, in order to make bushy plants. Keep all the walks clear, the*beds and borders light and mellow, and free from weeds. Let the lawn always be kept closely shorn, and the grass will not be so likely to die out after mowing, the roots being always accustomed to bear the sun. Layer Verbenas, Petunias, Ac. Bud and layer roses. Plants in pots must now be watered and syringed daily. Tho beauty of the grounds themselves can be kept up at this season only by liberal watering at evening. Steam Plow.—The Illinois Central Railroad Company offer a premium of fifteen hundred dol lars for the best steam engine for plowing, or other farm work; one that can successfully com pete with animal power, as regards cost and la bor saving, combined. —Genesee Farmer. 55