Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1869-05-25
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Farm, Garden, Kitchen and Shop

CULTURE OF SMALL FRUIT.-A cores
pondent of the New York Fruit Growers
Club lately asked the following questions:
/. 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 plantations
last2 understand that some growers re-
commend taking up the old plants every
four or five years, and setting out new plants
in their place. 3. have seen it recon-
mended to plough or furrow up to the plants
in the fall. Now should the soil be left
there during the next summer or taken
away?
To these questions Mr. A. S. Fuller re-
piled as follows:
l. 1t is difficult to give directions that
will suit all localities and soils. In regard
10 pihching back the young canes Of rasp-
berries, my practice is to pinch blackberries
but once or twice in the season, according
To the strength of the plants, and then on
ly the main cane is checked, as | prefer to
let the side shoots grow their whole length,
and prune them back in winter or early in
the spring. | usually commence pinching
off the main cane in July, and if the upper
buds start and grow too strong, | check
them again in August, but never later than
the first of September Late summer
pinching or pruning is always injurious,
particularly if the plants are growing very
vigorously, because they are very likely to
produce new shoots which will be killed by
frost. | have never found it necessary to
check the growth of raspberry plants in
summer, and doubt if it is ever beneficial.
2 The duration of raspberry and black
berry plantations will depend entirely up
on the soil and care given them. Probab-
ly about five years is the average duration,
but | have known some to be as good at
fifteen years as they were at three or four
years. 3. Ploughing the soil up to the
plants in the fall, is certainly to be recon-
mended for beth raspberries and blackber-
ries, but the soil should be made level again
in the spring.
SHORT RULES IN RURAL ECONOMY
Paint all tools exposed to the weather, and
if with light colored paint they will not
heat, warp, or crack in the sun.
Dip well seasoned shingles in a lime
wash, and dry them before laying, and they
will last much longer, and not become COW
cred with moss.
In hltChing horse TO common rail Oh
worm fence, always select the inside cor
ner, which will be more secure by its brac.
ing position, and the halter will not become
entangled among the projecting ends of the
rails, as when hitched on the outside cor
ner. A better rule is never to tie a horse
TO a rail fence at all.
Always tie q horse by first making a sin
gle loop, and thrusting the end of the hal
ter through this loop. This is quickly un
tied, and will never come united of itself
Dip the ends of nails into grease, anC
they will drive easily into hard wood, wher,
they would otherwise double and break.
In screwing nuts into any part of ma
chinery i'm cold weather, be careful not t,
heat them first with the hands, or they vii
contract after being screwed on tight AM
become immovable afterwards.
In blowing or teaming on the road il
hot weather, always rest the horses on a
emnence, where one minute will be wort
two in q warm valley.
In setting out your orchards, always reg
i-tcr the varieties Immediately in a book
where they may be referred to in a fe,
years, when the trees commence bearing
and the labels are lost, and names forgot
ten.
In laying a garden for fruits and vegeta
bles, place everything in drills or rows, S
that they may be cultivated by horse, an
thus save the expense of hard labor
When board fences become old, and til
boards begin to come of, nail upright faC
ing strips upon them against each pos
and the boards will be held to their place
and the fence last several years longer.
Always set a post fence over ditch, {
near good drainage, and the post will Il
ways remain dry, and will last many yea
longer than those standing in wet sub-soi
The PoTAToE QUEsTIoN.-We ha,
read with much interest, an article in la
weeks paper, entitled Fancy Potatoes
and are very much inclined to think TIN
the writer's experience is only one amor
the many, of those who have rushed hca
long into the cultivation of new "breed
of potatoes, and got very badly sold. v
have, Ourself, experimental in potatOC
rs well rs in various other kinds Of vcget
BILE productions, and the result of our o
servations is as follows: Last year, '
planted less than half an acre of good loa
SOIL with potatoes, using hen manure al
superphosphate in each hill, besides COZ
mon barnyard manure, before ploughir
For early potatoes, we had the old Eau
Blues, and modern 'Sebecs ;" for fall, 81
Wis Seedlings" Jackson Whites" al
prince Alberts" OF these we select f;
ly blues for early potatoes, they havi
been ready for eating July oath. The
bees were almost worthless We had abC
40 bushels of fall potatoes, and the Da
Seedlings are now in their prime, and W
continue so, long after others have gro
sOggy. Your correspondent says he v
return to first principles and plant this We
jackson Whites" and Jersey Pea,
blows" two very excellent kinds, whi
raised in his section, cannot be excel
In this resolution he shows wisdom. Pc
toes, as an article of diet, are of great
portance, but no one need pay $50 per blu
ell for Early Rose or any other kind, WI
he can plant Early Blues, which are as c
ly rs the earliest, and they will yield eq
to the best fancy Breeds" and are g,
the year round if none other were rails
We shall plant Early Blues and d.
Seedlings this season.-DAvIs SEEDLl
in Woodstock Standard.
THE Potato. We are satisfied that
the whole it is better to grow the potato
drills rather than in hills. This gives
an opportunity to cultivate to advantG
Let the rows be two and halfor three
apart, and the tubers about ten inche
the drill. Avoid the two extremes of Ia
and small potatoes for seed. You will
potatoes of greater uniformity of size,
this is important in the market. Wha
of equal Importance, you will get gre
quantity.
In this mode of planting, there is
tendency to run to vine" and the re
will be better crop, fewer hollow ones
fewer small ones. Let the drills run
straight.as an arrow. Then when the pl
are four inches high, run pillow or h
hoe along close by the plants, and throw
soil away from them on either side to
depth of two or three inches, leaving
row ridge Of soil in the center of the
two or three inches thick, or Just d
enough to stand erect and hold up
plants. In the course of a week or
days, run the double mouldboard ploy
the horse hoe between the rows, and Il
back the soil which was removed from
plants into nearly its original position.
The effect of the removal of the soil
the neck of the plants, is to let the he
the sun down to the roots. The effect
be surprising to one who has never tri,
for it acts like magic. 1t will give yol
tatoes earlier than you can get by the
nary modes, earlier by some days, ant
crops will be largely increased. If an.
doubts it let him try it andreport the r.
And if he tries it thoroughly he will