Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-05-01
AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE.

| How TO RAISE BLACKBERRIES.-First, Sc
cure roots of kind that will not winter kill
or rust, and which are good and pay well.
Then select clay land it is much the best
manure it well with good rotted manure.
Plow or spade deep; pulverize well then
mark out deeply with shovel or barshare
pillow, or hoe las the case may bel in rows six
feet apart in the rows plant the roots three
feet apart. Well water or dibble the roots
in mud, and then fill up with dirt, throwing
the dirt so as to make it solid around the
plant, and water, If dry weather This is for
spring planting. For fall planting the tops
should have straw thrown around them, to
keep them from freezing out. They should
be tended like corn; hoed if needed. The
next spring, plow and throw the furrow to
the berry bushes, not going nearer than two
feet, and very shallow next to them, leaving
furrow between them, which will serve to
drain the water off This is the sixfeet space
that plow. Throw or put little manure
around the roots, and tend as the year before ;
only go very shallow, and not very near
to them. Do not allow more than two
shoots to come up. If they do, hoe off or
break off, as they are very tender. When
the shoots are three feet high chip the tops off.
This causes them to send out laterals or
stems, and makes them stand better, and
hardens the wood. In the fall of the second
year mulch with coarse straw or leaves, two
feet, one on each side, next and around the
STEMS This is for double purpose first,
to keep down grass and weeds; second, to
hold moisture. Can sow grass seed in be-
tween the rows or let it go now, and allow
no weeds to go to seed if in the grass All
this makes it nicer picking. After this never
allow more than four sprouts to stand, and
pinch or clip at three feet, and you may
always expect crop. Never dig from your
patch, as that cuts the roots, and causes them
to sprout. Every sprout you allow to come
up more than that number (four) takes from
the roots that which ought to go to nurture
the berries, and with care and little trouble
you can have your patch slightly, with plenty
of berries.-[D. T., in Cincinnati Gazette.
LIGHT BRAHMAs.-We have raised Light
Brahmas for the last ten years, and have yet
to find fault with them, or to wish for any
better breed. Their extreme hardness, beauty,
prolific laying qualities, and large size, make
them the most desirable of all breeds for gen
eral purposes. We fail to discover any good
reason why some find fault with them on ac-
count of their breeding propensity" So
far as our experience has extended, the
greater number of flock will lay all winter
ana far into the spring months before show
ing the least indication to sit. Were they
less broody certainly our number of g early
spring chickens would be few. Yesterday
we weighed seven of our pullets with the fol-
lowing result One of them weighed 81 lbs,
one 10 lbs, another 105 lbs, and the other
four exactly II lbs each. None of them are
over eleven months old. Can any of our
poultry breeders beat those weights in flock
of twenty-five ?-[Mrs. E. I. Aylea.
PEKN DUoKs-Some one wished descrip-
ton of the Pekin duck They are of a creamy
white in color, ange-colored bills, and
short, orange-colored legs; smooth heads, and
low, heavy bodies. Very hardy, quiet, and
domestic in their habits not given to wander
ing, and can be kept within any Enclosure, as
they can not fly from off the ground. They
yield a large quantity of soft, downy feath-
ers, superior in quality to those of the goose
are prolific layers, their eggs being considera-
bly, larger than those of the common duck,
and of pearly white. We think there is no
other sort of fowl which can be kept with
less trouble or more profit, and are pleased
that it is becoming better known and appre-
ciated. l would add that l have no fowls,
either Brahmas or ducks. to sell now, one adj
vertisement in the GGzette having sold all /
had TO spare.-[M Mrs. E. T. Alyea.
WooL.-The outlook for the wool interest
must be regarded as unusually hopeful and
encouraging. The business has suffered
many reverses in the past few years, and has
tested the truth of the old adage, : It's a
long lane that has no turning" The feeling
is now general that we are entering upon
career of prosperity which promises to make
good sheep more remunerative and satisfac-
tory than any other branch of agriculture.
Though there has been an extensive revival
in the manufacture of woolens, the supply is
still short of the demand, as is shown in an
article in another column, and prices have an
upward tendency. Those who had the fore
sight and enterprise to grade up and improve
their wool are now about reaping the benefit.
Exchange