Middletown transcript., 1876-05-27
RENEWING STRAWBERRY BEDS.

mOSl expeFleuCeu I&IHcIs, SatucnSao @n0
fruit growers in the United States.
RENEWING STRAWBERRY BEDS.
A good way to renew an old straw
berry bed, is to cut out with hoe, as
soon as the plants have done fruiting,
enough plants to leave them growing
about three feet apart. Then take q
fork-a potatoe fork is best-and loosen
up the ground all over the bed, break
ing the Jumps, and leaving it soft and
smooth and very soon the runners will
grow out and cover the ground. Some
times it is best to guide the runners to
vacant places, and set them, by taking
a garden trowel, and covering them at
the joints with earth, FIRST sinking then,
about half an inch below the surface Of
the soil. In the fall, the bed will prob
ably contain more plants than ought to
grow 10 it, and they should be thinned
out to stand about eight inches apart,
or further if you choose. Some varieties
bear we'll when growing close, and some
do not. The rule is generally not to
allow the plants to bear over two years
before renewing them. The advantage
Of renewing in this way is, that you
get a. full crop Of fruit every season, on
the same bed.
THE COMPOST HEAP.
Every farmer should have summer
compost heap, consisting Of manure
not sufficiently decomposed to use in
the spring. Manure will not decompose
under cover half as rapidly as it will
when exposed to the rains, therefore
place your compost heap out in your
barnyard. or in any place where there
will be but little waste from being
washed in heavy rains. A square heap
does very well as to shape; and the top
should be made fiat SO as not to shed
rain. The more straw mixed with 1t
the better, as the decomposition Of the
straw produces certain acids which
tends "fix" the ammonia emitted from
the manure. The sides and top Of the
heap should be covered with straw to
prevent evaporation No lime should
be mixed in such heap, unless it is
composed Of very course materials, with
but little manure. Plaster may be
sprinkled through it to advantage as an
absorbent ammonia Of the stable dung.
Salt is Of no particular benefit over
what it would be, if applied to land
separately. Muck is good-that is
muck from swamps which has been
drawn out in the fall, and left exposed
TO the frosts of winter to become disin-
tegrated. This, if mixed in layers with
the compost heap, will imbibe the gases
and virtue of the stable dung, and the
next spring the whole heap will be ex-
cellent manure, and IN good condition
to use on any crop; but the heap ought
to be forked over twice during the
summer. It is only the coarser por-
tions Of the contents Of the barnyard,
and gatherings Of weeds. ETC.. during
the summer, that most require to be
composted: yet, for many crops, if the
heaps be properly managed, almost the
entire contents Of the stable and barn
yard would be better to lie over one
season. COMPOSING is only injurious
when large portion Of the virtue Of
the manure is allowed to escape into the
atmosphere, by using no muck or plas-
ter. and by not properly covering the
heaps, or so making them that the rains
are carried Of, instead Of penetrating
through them Any ordinary soil may
be used in the place Of muck to about
the same advantage
HOW TO HANDLE SHEEP.
A great many farmers and their
help handle sheep in wrong way,
often pulling out handfuls Of wool,
when this might just as well be avoided
as not. An old sheep raiser says: "When
about to catch theep. move carefully
toward the one to be taken, until you
are sufficiently near to spring quickly
and seize the beast by the neck with
both hands. Then pass one hand around
the body, grasp the brisket. and lift
the sheep clear from the ground. The
wool must not be pulled. If the sheep
is a heavy one, let one hand and wrist
be put around the neck and the other
pressed against the rump." That is
good advice, as when sheep are roughly
handled, if the wool is pulled, the small
bruises will render them less tame, and
more difficult to handle.
EXPERIMENTING IN PRUNING.
A Western fruit grower reports that
he made the following experiment: A
branch one inch in diameter was cut from
a tree Of Rawle's Janet on the first day
Of each month in the year, and at the
end Of five years, when all were healed
over, they were opened and found to
have decayed the least in those cut in
February and March (or just before the
swelling Of buds) and most in those cut
in June and July, or during the grow
ing season. This goes to show that the
best time to prune fruit trees is early in
the spring. before the sap begins to flow
freely, which has been the custom Of
most fruit growers for century past.
ONLY ONE BREED OF POULTRY.
Many persons think they ought to
keep several breeds Of fowls; but one
breed is enough for farmers, and all
persons who merely keep poultry for
their own use. Young men are most
inclined to buy several breeds, but a
few years experience generally cures
them Of this propensity. One good
breed is more profitable, and a great
deal less trouble than two or three when
kept separate. 1t will do very well to
have differ ent breeds Of hens, if one de-
sires to cross his fowls, with but one
breed Of cocks; but to keep several
breeds in separate yards, without any
intention to breed fowls for sale, is not
advisable. To those who desire to OBJ
tain new breeds | would say, that the
statement in regard to the alleged good
qualities Of fowls in circulars and pub
lished in the papers cannot always be