Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-06-24

CURING HAY.-Experience proves
that grasses should be cut for hay when
the stalks are in bloom. The best time
of all, both for clover and other grasses,
is just when in full bloom. and the earli-
est blossoms are beginning to fade. Ii
not too heavy it can then be cut in the
morning, and, if carefully. scattered,
can be hauled into the barn in the after
noon of the same day. This makes the
best quality of hay. It retains more OF
the nutriment of grass than if it is left
exposed to dews and rains for few
days, and goes much furtlaeFe both for
fattening stock and for producing milk.
But whe the grassn is very lIeaFy and
is cut ish a moving seythe and thrown
into heavy sWaths- or roWs.it will not
cure Thoroughly under two days, aud is
not Sc good for food as that scurei and
put away in one, day, Dew and nj DIST
ure always affect the fibre of cut grass,
and weakens the strength Of 5ae hay
They also iniore and destroy the sugary
matter contained in the-s stems, and Ken
der them dry and tasteless. When a
bunch of hay can be twisted tight
without showing moisture or juice it is
dry enough to be slowed away. A little
salt scattered over hay which has been
caught in showers. will improve it and
renderit more palatable to stock.-[ Farm
Jonrnal; iY
Fowls IN ORCHARDs.-The public
has yet to learn the full advantage OF
keeping poultry. Few seem TO appre-
ciate what they may doamong trees in
AN orchard. Let any one try them in
an orchard of a quarter of an acre,
where they may be kept by the picket
fence four feet high, putting in, say one
hundred and Twenty-Five fowls. and OBJ
serve the result. twill avoid the an
noyances in the garden, of which so
many complain, while they viii work
among the trees, doing just what is
needed, and destroying everything that
can injure the fruit trees. in the shape
of bugs, worms or other insects, nd.iay
a large number of eggs, which are a
cash article, to say nothing Of the chick
ems, whicE pay well enough for raising
at the present time. / have tried it and
know it is so. / have about one hund
red fowls, which have worked admira
bly, among my trees, keeping the ground
in good condition, keeping off the in
sects and promoting the growth of the
orchard am satisfied that we have yet
to learn the full benefits which may be
derived from the proper -Bfanag cement
of fowls, and It Is possible that the
method have suggested may offer the
best way of getting our apple orchards
into bearing condition.
CULTURE OF SMALL FRUITs.-A cor
respondent of the New York Fruit
Growers Club lately asked the follow
ing questions: 49,
i. Will it do to continue pinching
back the young shoots all through the
growing season until frost, or should we
stop in the fall? IF so, at what time? 2.
How long will blackberry and raspberry
pIantation last? L understand that some
growers recommend taking up the old
plants every four or five years, and set
ting out new plants in their place.
hear that the Antwerp raspberry is
failing at Milton on the Hudson river.
8. have seen it recommended to plow
or furrow up to the plants to the
fall. Now, should the soil be left du-
ring the next summer, or taken away?
To these questions, Mr.. A. S. Fuller
replied as follows:
It is difficult to give directions that
will suit all localities and soils. In re-
gard to pinching back the young canes
of raspberries but once or twice in the
season, according to the strength of the
plants. and then only the main cane is
checked, as L prefer to let the side
shoots grow their whole length, and
prune them back in winter or early in
the spring. usually commence pinch
ing off the name cane early in July,
and if the upper buds start and grew
too strong, 1 check them again in Au-
gust. but never later than the first of
September. Late summer pinching or
pruning is always Injurious, particular
fy if the plants are growing very vigor-
ously. because they are very likely to
produce new shoots which will be killed
by the frost. Besides this, the fruit buGs
which are relied upon for the next sea-
sons crop, will sometimes start in the
fall, and, of course, be destroyed by the
first frost. I have never found it neces-
sary to check the growth of raspberry
plants ssin summer, and doubt it if it is
ever beneficial The duration of rasp-
berry and black berry plantations will
depend entirely upon the soil and care
given them. Paobably about five years
is the average duration, but / have
known some to be as good at fifteen
years, as they were at three and four
years. Pfowing the soil up to the plants
in the fall is certainly to be reeommend-
ed for both raspberries and dblackberries,
but the soil should be made level again
in the spring.