Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1869-07-21

AGRIcULTCRHL ITEMs.-If a grass plat r.
overrun with moss. manure the surface rich
Is, and the grass will gain strength enough
" drive out the intruder. All fruit trees
should be sept free from moss AMI lichenS,
rs they are preventives to their bearing
.ruit. The trunks should be well scraped,
md hru he'd over with a mixture made Of
pne gallon Of soft soap, one pound of a)ur
# sulphur, and one quart of salt well stir
red together, and put On with a hard brush.
This mixture will destroy the eggs Of ali in
-ects, and will keep the bark smooth and
1eIlthy. If applied To cherry trees it will
nave a %perceptibie influence upon the fruit
crop of the present year. 1t is an English
receipt in much use among the horticulturists
md Is applied to all kinds Of fruit trees;-
Is particularly beneficial 70 peach trees-and
We should judge it might prove a specific for
he :" yellows."
Leaves shaded from the light do not ac-
quire depth of color or strength Of flavor Z:
gardeners take advantage Of this fact, and
re up lettuce to make the white and mild
Favored.
For wall fruit the supports should be paint
ed a dark color, on the principle that black
absorbs heat without rejecting It.
Plants are in their most active state of
growth while in bloom avoid transplaotinS
them at this period, for in all probability
they will suffer from the process. On the
contrary, choose this period, in preference to
any other for taking cuttings, as they will
strike root much quicker. All garden
hedges, currant and goOseberry bushes. should
De kept tree from weeds, else when they ran
20 seed they will supply your garden with
a stock for the season.
We must SOW, and water, and weed care
FULLY but also must bear in mind that
" Paul may plant, and ApOllos water, but it
il God who giveth the increase.
A mulch is a covering Of the surface with
any good material which does not imbibe
and draw moisture from the earth, aud pre-
serves the humidity OF the soil from midsum-
ner suns, and prevents excessive frost and
sudden changes in winter. Mulching thin
sands and gravels, gives them the equable
temperature of deeper soils. Gardeners get
the idea from forests which are annually
mulched by the fall of leaves.
Salt hay makes the most tidy mulch. In
land, there is nothing neater than pine leaves.
Straw brings grain and grass seed with it.
Any vegetable mulch affords a breeding place
for insects. Remedy-scratching hens at
proper times. Except TO keep Strawberries
clean, there is nothing nicer or better for
summer mulch than an inch or two of loose
earth, fresh from the thrust or scuflehoe.
Use a long handle. and leave no tracks upon
the ground.
PoTATo FLIEs.-Several of the blistering
beetles are destructive to the potato vine, and
are popularity known as potato flies. Mr..
Daniel Hubbard, Montgomery Co.. Ill. writes
that his sons effectually destroy these insects
by making a fire of straw and other Light
stuff upon the edge Of the field at twilight
The insects are attracted from a great dis
lance by the light. and in two instances the
fields were completely cleared.
Ii is i better not to hoe potatoes much after
blossoming. but to keep them clean Of weeds
~ pulling and cutting them. Make the
IIlls large enough and high enough u cover
al the growing tubers, or they will be green.
ID and injured for eating. Early PLANTED
should furnish US good boiling tu 1ers during
Jdly. Select for digging hil having the
tewest, largest and most mature tops, as they
will be likely to contain the most mature
potatoes.
Keep beets well hoed and thin out to siz
Jr eIgut inches apart. As the carly croI
c mes INTO USE, save at least one Of the bes,
md earliest to grow, and retain it for grow.
ing seed rom next year If the prospective
winter crop seems short, - Early Blood Tur.
zip " may yet he planted with d certainty Of
a lair crop, If sown in rich, warm soil and
well tended.
The season for cutting asparagus is now
Iver and the bed. very lINely, Il covered with
grass and weeds. A little time now devoted
70 clearing it and applying q dressing OF some
uItdbIe fertilizer, and working II lightly
md carefully. will be ric Iy repaid next
spring in increased prUductiveness and free
dom from weeds.
On some Of the Sandwich Islands a very
extensive business is done in raising turkeys
The increase Is wonderful. The turkc,
hen begins TO lay at eight months old, pro
duces t"enty or more eggs for a sitting ana
8 metimes incubates three lots, or sixty eggs
within one year. Food j. very plenty anc
costs nothing, and the turkeys have no enc.
mics. Accordingly they be ONE very fat
Ihey are worth only twenty-five cents eacI
On the isla1ds of Lanai and Kahoolawe.
where they are raised in the greatest mum.
bers, but transported to Honolulu they ar,
usually worth "a dollar each.
A new kind of blasting powder, called
ammoniac powder, has been successfully used
IN Sweden. It's properties are quite re.
markaDie from their inconsistency with eact
other. 1t Is said to combine considerable
explosive force with a tardy in1amabiiity
that 1t does not deteriorate from the effect.
of climate.
The time to feed poultry is not in the NOR.
NANA III InC DG5I lntY can IOI
themselves in the early part of the day, but
Just before they 90 to roost fill their crop,
with pudding. Active digestion can 90 on
IN the crop and gizzard of a chicken while it
is asleep.
The value of Canadian cattle exported into
the United States during the first three
months ofIS69 was 1926, 252-nearly double
the value Of those exported during the same
period of 1868.
/
Always loosen the check-rein before Civ
ing the horse water. Even if the nail "a
held so high hat the rein is not tight, the
position Is not a natural one in which to
drink.
Bement is of the opinion that where fowls
are fed on corn or barley it pays well to boil
1t. Oats and buckwheat should be fed raw.
Two dogs recently killed 81 sheen and
mortally wounded ITO more, in one night, in
Bloomington, Ill.