The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1877-07-11

waited in this country. Many Of our
best farmers who feed all their hay
value a mixture of orchard grass and
red clover more than any other
grasses. 1t makes q highly nutri-
iious hay, and is much relished by
stock of an kinds. Cioverhsy-that
is, hay where clover predominates,
grows too rank and coarse the first
year after wheat, unless for soiling.
Red clover is q biennial plant, and
every farmer experiences that it is
only after the second year from
wheat that it makes the article 90
salable in market under the name of
timothy hay. Orchard grass, when
sown with clover, obviates this diff
Guilty, grows rs rapidly as clover,
starts in the spring as early, and by
this similarity Of habit makes a suit
able grass to mix with it. For pas
ture it stands the drouth better than
any other, will bear heavier stocking
and comes forward 10 the spring very
early. Orchard grass quickly re-
covers and grows after being closely
cropped q week or ten days of sum-
MGR growth will make quite a good
pasturage. 1t also, by its great
amount of fibrous roots, tends to i'm
prove instead of impoverish the soil.
Ii is not ut all fit for a lawn, as it
sometimes grows in lunches or tus-
socks, especially when sown thin.
The proper quantity when sown
alone is but two bushels to the acre;
when sown with clover one bushel is
sufficient. Perhaps there are no two
grasses that can be sown together
with SO great advantage as red clover
and orchard grass. By their union
the crop is nearly double what it
would be if each were own separate
ly; they grow and flower well to-
gether, come to maturity about the
same time, and the clover is sup
ported from falling by the uncommon
strength Of the orchard grass.
POTATO BEETLES.
IL take a pailful of water (say
three gallons) and tbicken it over the
fire with rye or wheat flour, or with
the common starch that is used for
dressing satinet warps. | thicken the
whole three gallons to the consisteu-
CIV of cold molasses. / then take a
half pint of this starch, pour it into
another pailful Of cold water, and
add one tablespoonful of Paris green,
and mix TIE whole thoroughly, care
being taken to keep it evenly mixed,
and with q sprinkler or syringe apply
to each plant or hill. One or two ap-
plications during the season will be
sufficient. If the beetles are as nu.
merous as | have seen them, the
stencil from the field the next day
will be sufficient evidence that the
work has been accomplished."-Se-
lected.
NOT RELIABLE.
A successful dodge in free adver-
Using of commercial fertilizers may
be expected in the papers, now that
such fertilizers begin to attract con-
siderable attention. For instance, a
dealer 10 them writes articles for the
press, stating fictitious results from
their use, and signs bis name FARM
Err or some other nom de plume.
| have such a one before me in the
Ohio Farmer, signed, FARMER,
New Hampshire" who gives a long
statement of the wonderful results
on a New England farm" from the
use of ground bones, fish pomace,
wood ashes, guano, potash, oil of
%vitriol, sulphate of magnesia, nitrate
of soda, nitrate of potash (saltpetre)
and other fertilizers. Here is q spec
linen of what he says be produced :
Zone measured acre plowed in au-
tumn and dressed in spring with FIVE
hundred pounds of pure, fine bone,
sown broadcast, was planted with
corn. A handful of superphosphate
was placed In each hill. From this
acre one hundred and ffty-seven
bushels of corn in the ear were gath
cred. The following year, by the ap.
p~lication of eight hurried pounds Of
mixture of ashes, bone dust and salt
petre, thirty-one bushels of winter
rye were raised.D He adds that his
farm has never produced less than
serenity bushels Of shelled corn to the
acre since be commenced using these
fertilizers. This is, probably, n of
the bogus free-advertising lodges to
which l refer, and ! allude to it to
put farmers on their guard. The
most of the fertilizers he claims to
have used are useful and in some
cases profitable to apply to crops,
but the extraordinary products al
legged to have been obtained from
their application may justly be looked
on with suspicion.
PRUNING GRAPE VINES IN THE
A.
Grape vines are managed 10 sum-
in different ways by different
men and when one has read the va
rious methods of summer pruning,
published in the agricultural and hor-
ticultural papers, be finds the opinion
of grape growers so various that be
is merely befogged by them. if be is
a novice in the business. Even the
books published on grape culture are
of little value, as they were written
from Is to 20 years ago, and when
our ideas on grape growing were
very crude. / will state q few points
that 25 years experience have proved
to me to be correct, as follows:
l.. Thrifty vines. as the Concord,
Hartford Prolific and others of very
free growth, should leave trellises 10
or IL high, in order to obtain the
greatest amount of fruit, after the
vines have fruited four or FIVE years
and the summer pruning should con-
sist ia cutting away feeble shoots
wherever found, thus throwing the
vitality of the vines into the stronger
canes, which will produce the fruit
buds of the next season.
3 Pinchinp hack hearing "a nea tn