Middletown transcript., 1876-04-29


farmers and village residents that there
are male and female strawberry plants;
and that the two sexes must grow near
each other, or the female (pistilate)
plants will produce very imperfect fruit
little Of it. One male (staninate) row
10 four pistillates will suffice. But
when staminates only are grown they
produce full crops Of themselves and
most Of our best strawberries are Of the
male sex The sexes may be known
on sight by the blossoms-the female
having small delicate flower without
stamens and the males much larger
flower covered with stamens. 1t used
to be claimed that the most productive
varieties, when fertilized BY staminates,
are the pistillates but my experience
coutradicis that theory; out it is i'm
portant, when one obtains new varieties.
TO ascertain the sex, and set according
". The fertilizing Of the pistillates is
effected by bees and other insects carry
ing the pollen Of the male flowers to the
female flowers. The three most popu-
lar market varieties in the vicinity OF
New York, are the Wilson. Jucunda
and Charles Downing, all having STAN
mates.
THE ACTION OF PLASTER.
The action Of plaster (gypsum) is
involved in good deal o. mystery.
The theory has been held BY many
so;.r,;Hc men that il merely attracts,
and absorbs the ammonia in the atmos-
phere. Prof Liebig, the noted Ger
man agricultural chimist. held this view
of It's action but whatever its virtues
may be, it shows the best results when
applied upon the surface Of the ground,
and especially on grass lands, clover
in particular The quantity may be
100 to 200 pounds per acre, applied in
the spring, avoiding sowing any on
low. wet lands. Plaster is also valu-
able fertilizer when applied to corn
Immediately after the first hoeiDg, about
half Of a table spoonful to hill An
experiment was made on the Michigan
State Agricultural College farm. show
ing the result Of sowing plaster ongrass-
land, ID comparison with other fsrtili-
zers, which were applied one year only.
and the grass carefully weighed the
) following three seasons, with the fol
lowing results: On the plot to which
no manure or fertilizer was applied,
The total weight Of hay yield per acre
was $40 pounds Where two
bushels Of plasher per acre were ap-
piled, the yield per acre was 1925
pounds, gain of 4.484 pounds.
Where five bushels Of wood ashes
we're applied the yield per acre
was 12,0O7 pounds, gain Of 4,165
pounds. Where twenty loads Of horse
manure where laid -oD. the yield was
14,6s6 pounds, gain Of 4, 224 pounds
From this statement it appears that two
bushels Of plaster produced over two
thirds as much increase, as 20 loads OF
horse manure, worth ten times as much
as the plaster cost. Old pasture fields
can often be made to produce luxuriant
grasses By the use Of plaster; but all
lands are not equally benefited BY its
application.
soILING CROPS.
Why the growing Of green crops, to
feed to stock iE their green state,
should be called "soiling" ! do not
know but it is SO called, and We will
not disturb the uame The most pro-
ftable soiliDG crop for cowsia corn, the
sweet variety being considered best BY
those who have grown it. When
man owns small farm, and is short. Of
good pasturage, it is decidedly the
cheapest way to soil his cows for few
months. He can. commence on oats
sowp very early, then feed clover. and
finish On corn sown at different times,
60 that the last crop will be cut as late
as the season will admit. Cows that
are soiled should have yard to exer-
else in; and their manure should be
gathered daily, and placed where it will
be preserved Probably the extra
manure saved will pay for cutting the
feed. and attending tothc cows Corn
may be sown broadcast, two bushels to
the acre, or in drills about 80 inches
apart, between which a cultivator
should be run. Large dairies maysalso
be soiled to advantage. where one has
not sufficient pasture lands. AT a
Convention of Dairymen at Utica. N
Y. member eaid: II soiled pure
bred Jersey COW last season. The
basis Of the food employed was grass
and grain She was well fed but not
oyer-fed. and all surplus food was re-
moved from the manger, leaving none
to sour. My conclusions were that.
by having comfortable stables and
giving the animals good feed and care,
the product Of cows by soiling could be
increased 33 per cent
OLD ORCHARDS
In many places old orchards exist
which bear but little fruit, and very
poor ia quality. Many Of the trees,
perhaps, are deeaying and uselessly
humber the ground We look around
expecting to see fine thrifty young
orchard growing up, with choice graft
ed fruit, to replace the old one; but
the young trees do not exist on hun
dreds Of farms, whose owners do not
seem 10 know what is their interest.
nor for the interests of their children.
who are to succeed them on the ''old
homestead" Even 1900 years ago
farmers knew enough to renew their
fruit orchards, as it is written Of barren
trees. ..cut them down, why cumber
they the ground" yet here in the
United States, in the nineteenth cen
tury, with horticultural papers offered
to farmers for mere trihe, they do not
seem to know enough. in many places.
to cut down an old fruit tree, when il is
utterly useless, and plant new one in
its place, or rather in some new place.
as It is not advisable to set a young
orchard where an old one grew. And
ri