Middletown transcript., 1876-04-01
AQritultural.

most experienced farmers, gardeners ano
fruit growers in the United States.
PLANTING GARDENS EARLY.
A great many people plant their
gardens too early. A few warm days
always cause people to think they had
better plant many vegetables that would
do better if planted two or three weeks
later. At The South gardens may be
planted 10 March and April. but at the
North but few things shonld be plant
ed before May. Lettuce. onions, beets
and peas are the first to 60 in. to be
followed in two or three weeks with
sweet corn. beans. melons, &c. 10 the
States extending from Delaware to
Maine, not hill Of corn. beans OF
melons should be planted before May
18th, and 10 cold Springs it would be
better to plant such things about May
25th.
GOOD COWS CHEAPEST.
Farmers make serious mistake in
not raising better stock, as it costs no
more to feed COW worth 500 than it
does one worth $50 All you have to
do 10 order to have good cows is to buy
good bull of any breed that is noted
for producing good mich COWS. and
with two or three first rate native cows
one can soon have cows that will milk
20 quarts day just as well as those
that give only six or eight quarts.
Yearling bulls Of blooded stock can
often be bought quite cheap. to be
kept year or longer before used. The
Ayreshire is probably the best milk
producing breed we have The Dur
hams make the best beef cattle. and
sometimes good mixers; the Devons
are very hardy. and make splendid
working oxen, but are not noted as
great mixers; the Alderneys and Jer-
seys (both about the same breed are
too small for farmers, and their milk
is too rich to 20 to cheese factories, as
it produces pound Of butter to six or
seven quarts, while native cows milk
makes only pound to thirteen or four
teen quarts Of milk.
TOO MANY VARIETIES
Another great error is. when one
commences to grow fruit, he gets too
many varieties, and this is caused by
seeing the long list Of varieties in
nurseymen's catalogues. whose business
it is to grow as many kinds as possible.
SO as to sell the moro and receive the
the more money. Probably not over
one-fourth of the varieties Of fruits
advertised BY these men are worth
cultivating, 10 view Of the fact that the
other three-fourths are inferior sorts.
No matter whether it be apples. pears,
peaches, grapes. raspberries, black
berries or Strawberries, no man should
grow but few Of the best kind. But
to know which is best is the great
trouble. It won't do to trust to the
seller, as he, in most cases, is mere
producer Of small trees and plants, and
he does not know perhaps which are
best Then the nurserymen often
recommend that kind that they have toe
most Of, 50 there is no safety but for
the purchaser 6rst to ascertain. if be
can, what be ought to buy, and then
order those particular varieties, with
an emphatic injunction. "seDd the
varieties named or ,ne."
FALL BEARING RAspBERRIEs.
The Catawissa and Ohio Everbearing
produce fruit in the Fall instead Of in
Spring. The canes must be cut down
close 10 the ground either in December,
after the crop Of fruit is gone or early
in the Spring. and the new canes that
shoot up rapidly bear the fruit in
October. continuing till killed by frost.
The Catawissa produces reddish berry.
and the Ohio berries are like black
caps. These varieties are very valua-
bic % every family having garden
III OLD AND NEW STRAWBERRY BEDS.
A great many old strawberry beds
are now q complete mass Of plants, too
thick to produce a good crop Of fruit
Take common farm hoe. and have o
blacksmith cut off enough Of each end
to leave hoe about four inches wide
Grind this sharp, and commence to
thin out the plants, as soon as the
leaves have growr enough TO enable
you to distinguish between the old and
new plants. You should aim to cut
out all plants that have grown two or
more crops Of fruit, SO far as you can.
and you thus renew your bed; and BY
following up this system Of cutting out
in the Fall or Spring every year, one
may grow strawberries for many years
without resetting the beds. New beds
may be made either in the Spring, or
in August and September; but never
wait till Fall when the bed can be set
10 the Spring The crop will be worth
but little till the second year. Plants
set in April or May two feet apart will
cover the ground with plants by Fall.
Setting in rows is very good way
the rows two feet apart, and the plants
one foot apart in the rows; and a mar
row walk kept open between the rows
to pick the fruit from. See to it that
you don't set pistillate (female) plants
with no staminate (male) plants to
fertilize them.
now TO SET RAsPBERRIEs AND BLACK
BERRIES.
Both should be set in rows six feet
apart, and about two and half feet
apart in the rows. They may be grown
without trellises very we'll, BY shorten
iDg,in the canes as they grow, which
produces bushy plants that need no
tying up To effect this result one
must look at bis plants about once
week, when the new canes are growing
rapidly. and cut of the tops Of all about
four feet high. The FIRST and second
years most any crop can be grown
between the rows, as potatoes, cabbage,
tomatoes, peas, &c.
LAWNS.
lra ,oav sucS a. mnll hovn a hooufi.