Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1863-10-01
AGRICULTURAL.

10y ietehIise and damp, and the plants earth.
eo up IN the usual manner, | have since used
sa"oust Tor the purpose, and find that it an
s"ers perfectly. Last winter, all the late
celery was earthed IN in sawd,,st and il kent
quite sound till April, and no slugs of insects
! attacked 1t under ground, the heads being
| very solid, clear and crisp, and we'll favored.
| had some doubts that the sawdust from the
resinous trees might give the celery a disa-
! gCeeable flavor, but on trial found this not
| to be the case, and the sawdust is now taken
| indiscriminately from the saw-pits where diff.
/ terent kinds of trees are sawn up. Before
| the late severe frost occurred in October. |
had just finished the earthing up of all the
late celery with sawdust, and | find it is now
wonderfully fresh, the frost not having pene-
! trated far through the surface to the hearts.
-GardenG's Chronicle.
DBIED APPLEs-We have known helm
| meet cut and dry apples during the winter
| instead of the fall, and it has been enough
for us, On seeing the white clean, dried
| pieces, we are at once convinced. Here is
the point: Not a fly speck was there, no
mould, no rot. 1t was the perfection of
dried apple.
| Another advantage: Apples then are ripe
or, nearly so, they have the perfection of
their flavor, and this flavor will be present
| when the fruit is served.
| Do our housewives consider this? The
| fruit should be, when dried, just what it is
| when used in the fall or winter undried.
| Then we are particular to select the best.
| But for dried fruit anything will do"
What an error this is. No wonder that dried
fruit pie is an ordinary affair compared with
the fresh, juicy apple pie.
Thinning THE LEAVES OF GRAPES.-One of
the most absurd practices prevalent, is that
| OF pulling off the foliage of grapes in order
| las it is said,) to ripen up the fruit Those
who do this say they can't bear to see the
| clusters so shaded they kuoW the sunshine
would color them. And so they thrust right
| and left, covering the ground with green
| leaves. This is great error. The ripening
of fruit depends upon the presence and
successful working Of well formed and healthy
| foliage on vigorous vines. The leaves are the
| lungs and stomach Of the plant. Through
| them it brcathes; by them it digests its food,
and prepares nourishment for the fruit and
the whole vine Goto the sides of the forest,
and you find the blackberry developing larger,
and ripening up finer in partial shade, than in
| the sunny field. Go little further and you
will find the wild grape growing luxuriantly
and ripening' perfectly where the sun seldom
| shines; certainly, where it never reaches the
clusters, and where no one pulls Off the leaves.
| Some of the handsomest clusters ever picked
in our garden, hung all summer in the shade
} of leaves, and on the north side of the trell-
! is-bar. The leaves had the sunlight all day,
| but the fruit did not. We have no doubt that
| one reason why the costly wineries of the
country show so much half ripened fruit is
because the gardeners so perpetually NEEDLE
with the foliage.
| KEEPING VERBENAS OVER WINTER. - My
better half" has no difficulty in keeping the
| Verbena in the house through the winter;
with her the question has been how to keep
| Verbenas in the open border. After many
! experiments she has succeeded the past win
ter by placing over the plant frame made
for protecting cucumber hills, having in it
| 10 by II glass. The Verbena remained in
fine condition, fresh and green, all winter,
was uncovered early in April, then growing
| vigorously, and on the 10th of May was in
| full bloom. Those kept in the house are pot
ted in the fall early enough to root well before
| freezing weather comes on; they are then
placed in the east windows of our sitting
room, where we have wood fires, and never
allow the frost to enter The plants are kept
clean and moist, tobacco smoke applied when
necessary, and thus the plants are kept vigor-
Gus and healthy through the entire winter.
This spring they commenced blooming the
| last of March.
If one viii but pay attention to the plants,
| it is easy to see whether they are suffering
| from dust want Of moisture or insects, when
| the proper remedy can be applied and the
| plants kept in healthy state.-Hotjcdt0r
MATURING TREEs,-It is a very common but
mistaken and useless practice, to apply all
| the manure close about the foot of the tree
The roots have shot off a long way from this
narrow circle, and very few get any Of the
rich feeding intended for them. Others, with
more judgment, but still erring regard the
circle of the roots as large as the circle of
| the branches, and apply accordingly. The
circle should be still larger for, as a general
rule, the roots extend as far as the distance
| from the bottom of the trunk to the cxtrem-
| cites of the taltest or longest branches; hence
in orchards, long before the bOughs approach
each other above, the roots below have form
ed one continuous net work through the whole
surface of the field.
SHADE A FERTLIZER.-One holds that dark
ness tavors the deposition of nitrate of potash
which is fertilizer, in the soil. Another,
that shade brings III the earth-worm, whose
ORGANIZATIONS benefit the soil. Wherever
there is fat stone or board, or head of rub
bish, thither comes the earth-worm. Re is a
regular sapper and miner, boring the ground
for a foot deep, with a multitude of holes, and
leaving behind in his excretions a compost
which is quite enriching He is Jethro
Tull, tiling the ground, and SO fertilizing it
with the gases of the atmosphere.
LIVE AND DEAD WEIGHT OF SHEEP-A rule
for mutton sheep is to weigh the live sheep
and divide the amount by seven. Thus, a
sheep weighing 40 pounds, divided by seven,
would give 20 pounds dead weight, equal to
the weight Of quarter, or 80 pounds for the
mutton. The pelt and rough lallow would
make about 20 pounds more, thus making
what is called in the Boston market four
quarters to the animal. OF course, sheep
poorly or extra fattened viii go above or be-
low this average, but on the whole the rule is
not far from correct.
Hay AND Corn SHRINKAGE BY DRYIyG.-The
loss upon hay weighed July 10th, when cured
enough to put in the barn, and again February
goth, has been ascertained to be 274 per cent.
So that hay at SIS ton in the field, is equal
to $50 and upward when weighed from the
NOW in the winter. The weight of cobs in
bushel Of corn in November ascertained to be
19 lbs, was only y lbs. in May. The cost Of
grinding bushel of dry cobs, counting hand
ling, hauling and miller's charge, is about one
cent pound. is the meal worth the money?
-Scieatifc Amoericen.
Coal TAR FOR BRANDING SHEEP.-We are
informed, by one who knows, that coal tar is
really one of the best articles extant for
marking sheep 1t gives without any pre-
paratior, durable, bright brand Twenty
FIVE cents will purchase enough to brand two
thousand sheep While the same amount of
tar, lampblack and Iinseed oil, will cost at