The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-05-13
evening dState Snurnal.
SATURDAY EVENING, MAY 10, 1871.
New York Farmers, Club.

PRUNING GRAPE-vINEs. DIR. Halloc
stated that he was unable to trim bis grape
vines in the fall, and asked whether
would do to prune them now. Mr.. Trim
ble-No. Mr.. Lswton-Yes | hav
pruned vines as late as the 10Th of May
they will bleed but not enough to hur
them. Mr.. Dodge-Don't prune, rub oil
the shoots. Mr.. Ely-That will do, or i
you prune apply grating wax or grating
paper to the wounds, or a potato is good
Mr.. R. Ii. Wiliams-Wa till the leave
are somewhat developed aud then prune
for then there will be something to Absorb
the extra sap.
A CHICKEN RECORDS. Seeley, Esq.
of Long Hill, Conn.,, wrote II have KEEP
from 100,to 800 fowls for twenty or TWEEN.
ty-fve years past. I have kept correct
account during that time of the number oil
bushels of grain the hens eat during each
year, the amount the eggs sold for each
year, the market price of the grain, etc.
The eggs sold, taking one year with an
other, including the worth Of the manure
and the eggs and chickens consumed in
the family, were about fifty cents per hen
more than their feed came to, at the mar
ket price of the grain. 1 raise but few
chickens; it is cheaper for me to buy
The hens are kept in one flock they are
most of them the old-fashioned dung-hill
fowl. | feed and water once day, and
give them all they will eat of corn, oats,
and buckwheat, with small potatoes, when
l have them, boiled and mashed with meal
mixed in them, also plenty of shell aud
bones cut fiue; some meat in the winter.
One year had about 100 hens weighed
all the grain. The hens ate fiftv-five
pounds of grain each, and laid 100 eggs
per hen."
DESTROYING STUMps.-I. Chipperdale,
of Bellville, West Virginia, asked how he
should clear his land of stumps. Mr.. COL
ton advised boring two-iuch auger-hole
in each, and then filling it with petroleum..
After twas thoroughly saturated with the
oil, it could be set on fire and would burn
up. Mr.. Crane said this would not work
with green stumps. Mr.. Ely recommend
ed the "Little Giant Stump Fuller" Mr.
Reade-Cut tree thirty feet long, dig I'M
der the main side root, and put chain
around that and the but end of your tree
lever, using the stump for a fulcrum.
Then hitch pair of horses or yoke of
oxen to the small end and if the stump is
not set over strong it will be twisted out
without trouble r. &
REPRODUCTION OF VARIETIES FROM
SEEDING. r. II. Williams, for the pur-
pose of eliciting Information on the su b.
ject, asked: "Is it practicable to reproduce
the apple from the seed in its original
kind? Or is it from inherent natural law
that it does not do so, as we find in ordi-
nary practice? Is it not fact that the
apple, pear, plum, peach, grape, etc.,
always reproduce themselves in kind when
growing in natural condition, aud sepa-
rate from other varieties? | know of an
orchard of Seeding apple-trees more than
seventy-fve years old, the seeds of apples
from this orchard always reproducing ex-
actly its kind. How is this to be accounted
for ?" Mr. Dodge said that he had read
that there were very few varieties in ma
ture, but that plants under cultivation
sport and make numerous varieties.
Mr.. Crane said the original apple was
undoubtedly the crab, and that it would |
always reproduce itself from seed. He
knew of grove of apple trees which had
grown up in the vicinity of cider mill
from the pumice which was scattered by |
The cattle which fed on it, He had learned |
from man who gathered apples from |
this grove that he had never seen two trees
in it that were alike, or picked an apple |
from one of them which be could recog- |
nize as belonging to any variety. Mr..
tregory said that soil and climate had |
much to do with the matter but that he
iid not see how sucn a youDgish man as
MIR. Williams could know that an orchard
was seventy-fiye years old. 1t reminded |
him of the old negro woman in Georgia,
who, when asked how old she was, re-
piled 81 dunno, child, but I was ere
when Columbus came over"
KNOTS ON RAsPBERRIEs.- Mr.. Il. S.
Tyler, of Greenwich, N. j., sent specimens
OF knots found on his Clarke Raspberry
bushes. He was advised to cut them off |
and burn them. Mr.. Williams, in reply
to an inquiry about the eradication of sor-
rel from strawberry bed, that the best
way was to take out the strawberries, or
pillow them under, to lime the land we'll
say fifty bushels to the acre, and that by |
next year the sorrel would be sufficiently
eradicated to set the strawberries again
ADJoURNMENT-TnosE Clocks AGAIN.
The hour of three having arrived, the
chairman announced that the secretary
was tired-he scarcely takes any note of
The proceeding, bye-the- bye--and that he
would therefore-. Here DR.. Smith in
.erposed, and craved few moments in
diligence, while he called attention to the
electric clock which adorned the walls.
Such a clock, the Doctor thought, would
be capital thing for farm ; so nice to
have one regulating primary in the house,
and then several secondary dials about in
The out-buildings, reminding the hands OF 7
he flight of time.
AS if farm hands ever needed much
,elling when dinner-time came, or supper
lime, or any other time except working
lime. Why, some men, are SO dilatory
hat if every button on their clothes, orna-
mental ones aud all, were alarm clocks, it
would not suffice to arouse them to aprompt
,@ormance of their duty. Wall street
brokers' want electric clocks to tell them
when to cease to receive and deliver stocks,
,ut plain farmers will wait until steam
Flows are more common before they spend