Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1874-11-20

DESTRUCTION OF THE CANADA THIsTIE.-Ina
brief note recently we directed the attention of
our readers to the necessity of watchfulness
against the Introduction of vile weeds. and es-
pecially Of the Canada thistle. # is worth while
again to repeat that it does not take very long
to anIihilate pests like these in the beginning, if
only people will go at the work earnestly and
energeticaly. Since writing the paragraph re-.
ferred to, fact has come TO our notice which
shows what may be done by a watchful man.
One of our friends in going over his grounds
last spring was amazed to find that he was gull
/ ty of haFboring and entertaining the Canada
thistle. There it was and no mistake, thiekIy,
covering tract Of over one hundred square feet.
He did not send 10 town for q bushel of salt or
wait till the full of the moon, or thick of any of
the cheap and easy ways often given in the pa
pers rs substitutes for hard labor; but he sent
Ezra to the tool-house for digging-tork. and,
| loOsening the ground about the plant drew them
up as much as possible ''by the roots" The
task he tells us took just half an hour About
midsummer he examined the spot again, and
found that about dozen weak sprouts had ap-
peared in the place where there were hundreds
in the spring. These were served rs the rest of
the gang had been served before them, occupy
ing fifteen minutes only, all told. On again ex-
amining the tract recently he found but a soIi-
| targ piece which had evidently been overlooked
before-no new ones having appeared. This
was drawn out by hand, breaking off, and as he
says leaving small nest-egg which may preba.
bly, hatch little brood to be looked after next
/ spring but he has no doubt that fifteen minutes
more next spring will totally destroy his crop OF
/ thistles "root and branch, Thus. in an hour
| of good work, man who resolved to CONQUER
the enemy will have come off full victor, show
/ ing how easy it is to cope with these pests when
| taken in this way.
! The fact is we begin to have rather 4 moor
| opinion of the man who allows his property TO
be Overrun with Canada thistles. A strong
coarse weed like this, which can be easily seen
and handled, ought to be looked after and drawn
oat, as well as the dock, which every good far
mer about here thinks it an imperative duty if
not an intense pleasure to hunt pull and DESTROY.
/ Indeed, it sometimes seems, as we note the in
tense satisfaction with which some of our neigh
bors go at dock-drawing, that it would almost
be adding to their recreations for some one to
SOW dock-seed among their crops that they might
enjoy the pulling of them up in due season.
There are thousands of weeds much more iniuri-
Gus; at least our friend, the victor of the Cana
da thistle-patch, thinks so. He is sure he would
sooner have dose of Canada thistles to swallow
''any day." than be bothered with sorrel, toad
FAX, cough-grass, or land grassland we think
he IS right.-GsrD,aatO1rn telegraph.
ENRICHING ORCHARDs.-To have large and
fine apples and pears, an occasional, or when
necessary, an annual top-dressing with manure,
applied in autumn, is found to be Just the thing
On soils naturally very rich this is not necessary.
Where manure is scarce. green crops piowed
uude, are next best. Clover has been used for
this purpose with success. The seed should be
sown on clean mellow surface early in spring
and rolled or brushed in. It will make fair
growth the same season, and being allowed to
remain on the ground, the second year il will
afford cOpious supply of euriching material by
the first of June, which is as late as it will do to
plOw it under, and not have too great check to
the trees. The only objection to this mode is
the absence of cultivation through one whole
season while the clover is growing. The diminu-
tiOn in the growth Of the trees if they are young
is apparent, but it is more than made up subse-
queDtly after the clover is plowed under. Ifthe
clover is allowed to grow two years it will then
afford larger quantity of enriehing matter. but
this course should be adopted only for large
trees or bearing orchards, which will not meet
with so much check from the two clover years
We have adopted the practice with good results
of top dressing moderately with manure the au
| of thp fret oIIf fI,o oIo
for distance of ten feet or more on each side
This partly counteracts the exhaustion BY th,
clover, gives it a stronger start, and afford.
these trees plenty of enriching matter when al
is plowed under. Another and a very good way
is to sow rye in the orchard in August tn
young crop af1ordng fine green carpet wheI
the fruit is gathered, and plowed under immedi
ately afterwards il enricheS the land This car
be repeated every year without any difficulty
Where these different modes are not required 70
apple and standard pear trees, they will be use
full and important for dwarfs.--C o,a,tyy Gsaae
DlGa.
! PROPER MODE OF FEEDING HoRsEs.-Let m
say word or two in reference to feeding th
horse, as bearing upon the condition of the foot
Every owner of horse must have observed tha
the growth and strength and appearance of tn
horses foot is materially affected by the eondi
tion of the horse himself. half starved hors
may have foot injured by deficient nutrition
an over-fed horse may have a foot heated int
an Inflammation and so dependent Is the foo
upon healthy state of the animal econOmy
that for the foot alone, if nothing else, the die
of the horse should be regulated with the utmos
regard to his health.
| am confident that we give our horses to
much grain and too little hay-especially horse
under seven years of age, Mho will work wit
more endurance and courage on good suppl
of hay and moderate supply of grain-of tn
latter say six quarts of oats and pint of corr
daily. Older horses require and will bear NOR
grain-but ever they want more hay than is Us
ually given. Every horse should pass fey
weeks of each year without grain-either th
first half or the last half of the winter, whic
ever is the most convenient. And this mode
feeding can be adopted without suspending ii
| animals work.
| have one horse fourteen years DID, which ha
had this regimen for four months every yearC
his life (and bred him. and he is as smootl
I
smooth foot, was never lame and has alway
been in good order. He is good specimen
what box stalls, brick floor, tar ointment, tuI
nips and hay will do for horses towards preserv
| ing their health and strength, and soundnes
and promoting longeyity.-Hass. PLa9gIHlaa.
! FATTESING Hoes on COOKED FOoD.-Some o
/ the agricultural papers have lately denied IT,
! great advantages of cooking corn for swine
/ Omitting our own experiments, We refer to a fey
others. The two best farmers among our neigh
bOrs ut Union Springs, who weighed and mea
| sured, arrived separately at nearly the same re
suits, as to the great superiority of cooked mea
! over corn in the ear. One of these found tha
when corn was worth 62 cents per bushel, fed il
the ear, it was worth So cents in dry meal, an
[ SLIP to Sl.25 in cooked meal--that is, it VIZ
/ about double in value. The other farmer mer