Connecticut western news., 1879-01-08
FARM AND GARDEN.
PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE.

ITUnIng GfUDeS.-" We are pruning the grapevines and covering them with cornstalks. We consider fall the best time for pruning, instead of February,
 as many horticulturists advise. In this latitude it is generally too cold at that time, and if left later the sap starts and the vines bleed badly. They should not
 be covered in fall until after the first hard freeze, and then not deeply. More vines are lost by the injurious effects of too much covering in winter than through exposure. The object is not, as many amateurs suppose, to keep them warm, but to retain an even temperature Of cold. "-H. Bertrana, Corning, ~. r.
 Savia'g Seed Coav.-"To save seed CO., "n successfully in a cold climate, you shon. d not keep it in warm place, or especia uy where it is warm but part of the time, as ttere is danger that the changes of tempera ture may destroy the germinative power. Continued warmth is almost conducive to decomposition, which will destroy the life of the seed. Corn and similar SC eds are best kept in dry. cool room wL ere the temperature is uniform. When your seed from the small pile kept ove the iving-room failed to germinate,. the cause was probably due to both dampness and warmth, which melted incia lent decay. :" " 4. D.
 4 0tproof Corn Crib. seven years are test I have rat-proof orh- crib, ons of my own contrivance, on l. 'e following plan and size: Sixteen fee. long, five feet wide, eight feet from the floor to the plate above, three bents, sills framed into the posts eighteen inches from the ground, short way. A two by seven Jolst, sixteen feet long, set in outside of posts, to correspond with sills. Plates spiked on top of posts four-inch scantling for nail ties halfway between; four scantlings, two by four, set in lengthwise, to sustain the floor. The floor is of inch plank, doubled, laid crosswise, and sawed off even with the outside sleeper, to which the lower ends of siding are nailed. The door is set in eighteen inches above the floor, or three feet from the ground. "-J c. HaaOki'es. l
 Wintering Bees. .-"I have found that bees in movable comb hives require more care in wintering than in plain hives. There is so much more air space around the frames that the hives are necessarily colder than where the movable frames are used. Tho honey board ought to be taken off and piece of wollen cloth or carpet tackled on the | top of the hive. One or two strips should be laid across the frames to keep the cold from them; newspaper folded neatly and laid over the cloth completes the preparation"
 High La,ad .for Orchards. -" Avoid hollows, ravines and spongy black land. Even if we'll drained, such land grows trees which are likely to be succulent and short-lived. Gold air settles in the hollows, which arc colder than the hills. For an orchard, choose land that is high or relatively high. The land may slope | in either direction. There is not much choice unless the land is very steep."- Professor Beal.
 Coloring Apples.-The San Jose Mercury says that Charles Caine who owns an orchard near that city has method of giving to red, striped and yellow apples coloring. The fruit is picked and laid upon the ground in long, flat piles, under the half-shade of the l trees. It is desirable to give them as much sunlight as they will bear with out sunburning. In two or three weeks the apples on top will be highly colored. These are removed, boxed and sent to market, and the next layer exposed to the sun. Apples thus colored, especially the Baldwins, Smiths Cider and Sl itzen- bergs, challenge the admiration of all who sec them. By this process, apples that, when picked from the trees, were almost without color, will become as brilliant as the reddest apples on the tree and equally as fine as the best.