The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1878-01-16

Qually, Dy Guo feuOVA O1 buo young
sprouts which may have sprung up
where the pruning was performed, and
which, if allowed to remain, would give
thick tops again. The orchard soon
began to bear heavily Of fine large ap-
pies. On visiting it this year early in
September, We found the branches
bending under their loads Of fruit, al
though orchards generally through the
country are bearing but little, and some
are entirely barren. Sheep, which are
turned in early in Spring, and continued
till the growing fruit bends the branches
down within their reach, keep the
orchard nearly free from the ooddling
moth. We found very few specimens
infested. AS the trees shade most Of the
ground, grass is allowed to grow, and is
Kept grazed short till after midsummer
till about the middle Of Au-
gust. The dfoppings Of the sheep assist
in enriching the ground. =.
The orchard contains about 120 trees,
and sixty or seventy sheep are pastured
in it. The best sorts are the Baldwin and
Rhode Island Greening, The Northern
Spy succeeds we'll. Fall Pippins were
observed with heavy crops. The Rox-
bury Russet is improbable. The Fall
Orange bears fine crops, which sell as
we'll as any, and would be selected as a
profitable sort, were it not the crop
needs picking when other early autumn
work is pressing. To show the effect OF
good treatment Mr.. Landon showed us
an old tree of the Fall Orange, which
we estimated sixty years old, from it's
appearance and size of the trunk, A
few years ago it began to die, and was
about to be cut down. A successful
attempt was made to renovate it. The
dead limbs, including about half the
top, were cut out, and the ground was
we'll top-dressed with manure. In two
years, sixteen and a half dollars worth
of fruit was taken from it. 1t is now
bearing large crop of fruit.
In the apple orchards through the
country there is usually a year of
abundance and year of scarcity in al
ternate seasons. Mr.. Landon's orchard
bears most profnsely in the years OF
scarcity-probably because the treat
ment which first gave heavy crops
happened to be in one of those years.
A few years ago his crop sold for five
hundred dollars the year previous to
the last he received six hundred dollars.
He expects his sales this year to be
about four hundred dollars. The orch
ard stands on ridge. where it appears
to have good natural Drainage ); the soil
is not deep, and the roots thus coming
near the surface are more benefited by
the top-dressing than they would if on
deeper soils and extending to greater
depth. Some excellent orchards in the
same county grow on deep soils, and are
less affected by either cultivation or top
dressing. Country Gentleman.
To Tell the Age ofFowls.
If hens spur is hard and the scales
on the legs are rough she is. old, wheth-
er you see her head or not, but her head
will corrobora'e your observation. II
the under bill is so stiff that you cannot
bend it down aud the comb thick and
rough leave her, no matter how fat and
plump, for some one less particular. A
young hen has only the rudiments of
spurs; the scales on the legs are smooth,
glossy and fresh colored, whatever the
color may be, the claws tender and short,
the nails sharp, the under bill soft and
the comb thin and smooth.
An old turkey has rough scales on the
legs, callosities on the soles Of the feet
and long, strong claws, a young one the
reverse of all these marks. When the
feathers are on the old turkey cock has
q long tuft or beard, young one, but q
sproutng one, and when they are off,
the smooth scales on the legs decide the
point, beside the difference in size OF the
wattles of ths neck and in the elastic
shoot upon the nose.
An old goose when alive is known by
the rough legs,,the strength of the wings
particularly at the pinions, the thickness
and.strength of the bill and hneness Of
the feathers, and when plucked by tue
legs the tenderness OF the skin under the
wings, by the pinions and the bill and
the coarseness Of the skin.
Ducks are distinguished by the same
means, but there is the difference that q
duckling's bill is much longer in propor-
tion to the breadth of the head than the
old ducks.
A young pigeon is discovered by it's
pale color, smooth scales, tender, COL
1apsed feet, and the yellow, long down
interspersed among its feathers. A
pigeon that can fly has always red-col-
ored legs and no down and is then too
old for use as squad.
How to Keep Spinach.
The Massachusetts Ploughnaan gives
the following method of saving spinach
over winter as practiced by the market
gardeners about Boston 10 keep
spinach it is only necessary to cut it on
a dry day, about Nov. 10 or Is, and pile
it about six inches deep upon shelves
in q cellar provided with ventilators, 80
as to be able to keep the temperature
as near as may be at 80 degrees. The
cellar is usually built on purpose in the
large gardens where 1000 bushels or
of spinach are stored. An e1-
cavation 20x@ feet is made, six feet
deep, and walled up at the sides and
covered in with roof Of boards and
shingles, with door at one end. Two
paths or alleys run the length OF the
cellar two feet wide. and shelving OF
boards, with air spaces Of an
inch between, are built up on each side
the alley; the space between the shelves
is fourteen inches.
The cellar should be provided with
two or three ventilators of pine boards
six inches square, extending from near
the floor to a height of several feet
above the roof. These are kept open IN
moderate weather, closed IN very
severe cold spell or in thaw, the OBJ
ject being to keep the temperature as
near 80 degrees as may be.
The roof and ends Of the pit are Gov
cred over with litter of any available
kind to exclude frost. Spinach will keep
very well in cold. dry weather in a Gel
lar like this with little waste but it a
warm open spell of weather occurs, it
is very likely to decay and spoil.
Household Hints.
An EXCELLENT FURNITURE POLISH. -
Pnt into q bottle one pint OF linseed oil,
half quartern Of spirits Of wine, half q
quartern Of vinegar, and one ounce Of