The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1873-11-06
Farm, Garden and Household.



extent / see from the columns Of vo,,r
excellent paper that lime is recommen.
ded for the purpose. But nv object
IN this writing is for information ne to
he quantity to be applied. and wbetber
it should be air-slacked or NOT Also
If it would not prevent the borers from,
eetIlng IN by applying q quantity
around the trunks of said trees. I wash
my trees every spring with potash, and
hcrers. 1 think they would have
ruined the whole orchard if I had NOT
worked faithfully and energeticaIlv in
destroying them. 1t is under a beanti.
Jul sward, aid L wish to keep il TINS
The ground is kept rich by stable
manure, but none is allowed against
the trunks of the trees. Sometimes 7
put coal ashes and sometimes wood
around them. Can see no virtue in
ccal ashes, and no benefit from them,
except as mulch"
Reply.-The unfruitfulness is doubt
less due to the vigorous growth of
wood. There cannot be both wood.
growth and fruit. Lime and ashes are
serviceable to induce a growth of wood.
but are not of much service to producp
AhC bCSu pldu WOulu Dc1 TO re-
fraln from any further mu1urinp. and
TO prune the trees in the spring after
they have leaved. which will have the
ehect to CHECK the growth OF wood and
10 turn ths sap to the fruit-buds. The
pruning should be either by pinching
the ends of the shoots or. bv cutting
away some OF the superfuous wood. 1t
requires good deal of Judgment to
GI,pnACEtt,llxr
work, rs Barry's "Fruit Garden I"
should be carefully studied, so that the
principles ON which pruning ia ner.
formed be thoroughly understood. r.
is probable, however, that the stonnage
OF further manuring and n moderate
pruning of the young growing wood
just before hlOssoming would lie sufici.
ent to induce very early fruitinp, The
borer must be guarded against with
constant watchfulness. HEAPS of wood
ashes or coal ashes around the tree will
De OF some good effect, as will ulso kill
ing the worms by thrnstlng sharp
wire into the holes they have made.
To Organize n Farmers Club,
Call together your neighbors at the
school-house with the consent of the
Irustees) or at your own home. Select
Chairman and Secretary propose q
topic for consideration and discussion
let one man tglk at a time and the rest
listen; give each one chance to talk
adjourn to meet again on some other
farm, after having fixed uron subject
Ter discussion at the next meeting. This
is the simplest, most direct, and quick
est way of organizing a club. No by.
laws or constitution is really necessary.
Ii the club grows and becomes infiuen-
tial, as it will, and it is found that the
men who say the least do the most talk
ing, and it is therefore desirable to
limit them as to the time consumed and
the frequency Of their speeches, mo-
tion that speeches be limited to ten
minutes except by general consent, will
usually pass and prove effectual The
least cumbersome you make your or
ganization by loading it down with con-
stitution and rules, the more work will
be accomplished. OF course start such
club. Induce the wives and boys and
girls to attend by appointment. Meet
on some Saturday. Make it picnic.
Don't get up strife among yourselves
about entertainment. Let nll Join in
being useful seek to secure knowledge
and elicit facts, and have a good time.
Let it be remembered that the most ig-
norant man in any neighborhood pos
sesses some wisdom which may be cul.
tlvated and become useful, by just such
means for development as farmers
clubs have always proved to be.
Three Toms of Hay per Acre.
Mr.. George Geddes reports that he
cut and drew eighty loads of timothy
and clover hay from nineteen acres, and
that an average load weighed |, 500
pounds; thus the whole field must have
yielded three tons per acre. He also
reports Mr.. Swaby, of Seneca Falls,
as having drawn forty loads from
twelve acres OF clover. These were GER
tainly fine crops, but it must be re-
memhered that hay as drawn from the
held viii shrink from ten to twenty per
cent, and that these three tons will
not weigh ont more than two and one
half tons, at most, in winter. Mr. Ged-
des also cut second crop of clover
seed of three to six bushels an acre. He
thinks the land can stand this sort OF
cropping by making clover and timothy
the principal crop to be fed ont on the
farm or pastured off year after year. He
instances the fact that, probably, this
crop on this nineteen acres is the lar
gest that has ever been cut on it.
We doubt the soundness of this the
ory, whatever mar be the fact of this
particular piece of land. There must,
certainly, be carried off in seed and flesh
OF animals much fertility, and this is
not replaced by the manure returned.
This land, by good cultivation, may
have abundant fertility to supply crops
for Lifetime, but tne end must come
unless the mineral constituents are re-
turned, in some form, to the soil.-
Rurat Home.
The Hop Trade.
Just now, says a hop circular, the
hop trade is attracting the attention
OF producers. Hops areheld at As
to so cents in the hop districts.
Buyers are offering 40 to As cents.
Tue foreign prospects have i'm
proved, and the crop abroad is much
better than it was supposed it would be
a month ago. California hops have
sold in this market at 60 cents per
pound, but the quality was superb:
Foreign hops are being imported, and
domestic buyers are only taking, at the
present prices of holders, just what they
are compelled to to keep things moving.
The maxim among shrewd farmers is to
sell their produce whenever they can
make a good profit on the capital and
labor invested in a crop by doing SO.
We have known quite as much money