The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1876-05-26
.EMPORIA NEWS
FRIDAY, MAY 26, 1876.
Topics.

RuraI Topics.
Written for the NEWS by one
of the most experienced farmers,
gardener and fruit growers in the
United States.
SEEDING STRAWBERRIES.
The way to obtain Seeding
strawberries is as follows: When
the berries are fully ripe take the
variety you desire to expert
ment on and mash the fruit in just
enough dry fine sand to separate
the seed, SO that they can be sown
sand and all. Prepare a small bed
made with rich well rotted manure,
and thoroughly mixed with the
soil; and if not in a ehady place 1t
must be protected from the rays of
the sun in some way Sow your
seed in a broadcast way, and COW
er with finely pulverized soil about
an eighth of an inch deep, pack
ing down the earth with the back
of a spade. For a quart of Der
ries mashed in sand a bed three
feet square would be large enough.
In about two weeks the plants
will come up, and the bed must be
kept constantly moist and shaded.
In the fall the plants will require
careful protection for winter; and
the next spring they should be
set in beds where they will bear
fruit the third year. Every plant
will be q distinct variety; and you
may, perhaps, get one or two very
superior kinds in several hundred
plants.
GROWING CROPS IN ORCHARDS.
It is decidedly advisable to cul-
tivate apple orchards for the first
five or six years, manuring well,
and keeping the ground free of
grass and weeds around the trunks
of the trees. Potatoes are one o:
the best crops that can be grown
IN a young orchard. Corn is also
good while the trees are small.
Some farmers crop their old or
chards to advantage, blowing rath-
er shallow near the trees, SO as not
to disturb the roots; but as a gen.
eral rule old orchards should be
kept in grass, and "orchard"
grass is very good for such places,
as it grows well in the shade. An
old farmer says: 81 have an apple
orchard of seven and q half acres
that has been set seventeen years
and is most of it in very fine heal
thy condition, and l have plowed
and cultivated it every year, l
think, but two since it was planted;
those two it was seeded to clover
and timothy,and yielded two crops
of hay each of the two years.
The trees have now become so
large that the crops sowed or
planted in the orchard do not
amount to very much, but taking
the time from the first planting OF
the trees, L think l have raised as
large an amount of crops on the
land occupied by the orchard as
on any equal number of acres Of
my farm"
COVERING FODDER CORN.
In sowing fddeor corn in drills,
q good way to manage the cover
ing, is to cover with a pillow, form
ing q small ridge over the corn,
then make a smoother, as follows:'
Take q hemlock ioist Aka inches
cut in three four feet pieces, then
lay down the pieces forming a
square, the pieces being about two
feet apart, then cover with boards
nailed strong. In one end of one
of the outside pieces, bore q hole
to admit a small chain to hitch the
whippletree to. We will suppose
the corn has been planted about
a week, and is well sp-outed. Now
take your "drag," put large fiat
stone upon it in front, hitch your
horse to it, and go over the ground
crosswise of the ridges. This will
smooth the land splendidly, the
corn will come up Immediately, or
within 4S hours, the weeds will all |
be destroyed; and frequently the
crops will require but little, or no
cultivation. 1t is necessary to
watch the termination of the corn,
and drag it at the right stage of
its grewth, to be determined by
the heat of the weather. This
kind of rude drag is also excellent
for smoothing the ridges over po-
tatoes covered with a pillow, in Is
or 2Odays after bein g planted; and
the ground is left as free of weeds
as it was when the potatoes were
planted.