The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-01-05
Farm and Garden.


Fruit Cult,re.-Instead of trimming
up" trees, according to the old fashion,
to make them long.legged and long
limbed, trim them down, so as to
make them even, snug, and symmetri-
cal.
Instead of manuring heavily in a
small circle at the foot of the tree,
spread the manure, if needed at all,
broadcast over the whole surface.
Instead of spreading a small circle
about the stem, cultivate the whole sur
face broadcast.
Prefer "a well pulverized, clean surface
in an orchard, with a moderately rich
soil, to heavy manuring and surface
covered with bed crust and weeds or
grass.
Remember it is better to set out ten
trees with all the necessary care to make
them live and flourish, than to set out a
hundred trees and have them all die
from carelessness.
Remember that to- acco is a poison,
and will Kill insects rapidly if properly
applied to them, and is one of the best
drugs for freeing trees rapidly OF small
vermin-and is better used in this way
than to make men repulsive and dis
eased.-C Country Gentleman.
Winter Protection for the Stra0Jerry.-
After the ground is frozen to the depth
of four or five inches mot before) give
the plants a covering OF two to three
inches OF coarse straw or prairie hay,
evenly spread. 1t should be understood
that frost alone does little or no injury
to the strawberry. 1t is open exposure
to the dry winds and to alternate freez-
ing and thawing that destroys the
plants. First let the ground be frozen,
then give it covering such as will
screen the plants from the sun and the
extremes of winter weather, and you
give just the needed protection. If the
covering is applied too early in the fall
there is danger of smothering the plants,
for if followed by spell Of wet heather,
or fall of snow, the crown OF the plant
is liable TO rot. The ground once frozen
and the covering applied to retain the
frost, there need be no apprehension for
the safety Of the plants so long as the
ground remains frozen. Nor should
there be haste in removing the cover
ing in the spring. 1t should not be dis
turbed until hard spring freezes are
past and even then the finer portions
Of the straw should be worked down I'M
der and around the plants to serve as a
mulch to retain the moisture of the
ground No plant likes cool, moist
footing better than the strawberry or
is more benefited 10y mulching.
Vmtering Apples.-It should be un-
derstood that apples decay more from
being kept too close and warm in win
ter than all other causes put together.
Apples should be stored in cellar too
cool for keeping potatoes in. Apples
should be kept from contact with the
walls of the cellar, but near the middle,
up from the bottom, as near the ceiling
as possible, where there is better crcu.
lation of air.
Care Of Implements. There is probably
no text on which more preaching is
done by the agricultural press than that
which heads this article. And yet farm
ers are either forgetful Of the lesson or
are too careless of their own interests
to act upon it, We were especially re-
minded Of this by seeing, in the course
of ride of ninety miles through an av-
erage agricultural district, the following
tools lying out exposed to the weather,
viz: Forty.tour ploughs, twenty
three harrows, seven mowers, one reaper
with beaten and platform as last used,
wagons too numerous to count, and, i'll
one instance, set of harness hanging
on a fence. The ploughs were mostly
sticking in the iurrow where they had
been last used. Now, it is natural to
suppose that the owners Of all these
tools and implements never see an agri-
cultural paper, or they could not resist
the reiterated advice to take better care
Of their property of such perishable
nature. 1t is safe to say that these
tools, kept under cover when not in
use, will last more than twice as long rs
they will when exposed to rain and sun.
The loss is thus a serious one, and
we regret when we think that we can
not reach such farmers by word of adj
Veterinarian Agricultwist.