Connecticut western news., 1880-09-15
FARM AND GARDEN.
MULCHING.

CuItiUator gives & remarkable instance of the benefits of mulching. He says upon a dry and rocky hillside, in the town of Shrewsbury, Mass, stood an orchard. The trees were old and had not given a good crop of apples for several years. The owner having large quantity of hay drew it from the field and placed it around the trees to the depth of twelve inches, covering the whole ground occupied by the trees, emitting every alternate row. This was done in the month of July. The next year every tree where the mulch was applied was loaded with large and fair apples, while the trees had made a great growth of wood, and the leaves had beautiful green and spring-ike appearance, while those without mulch bore no fruit at all The varieties were the same.
 OUR AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS.
 The magnitude of agricultural in- terests is presented as follows by F. B. Elliot of the Maine Agricultural College: An idea of the vastness of this great industry can be obtained by statistics culled from the census of 1870. Of the 12,O0O, 900 persons engaged in all classes of occupations 6,00O,OOO, or nearly one- half, were engaged in agriculture; the cash value of the farms, implements and live stock was placed at upwards of $11, ,000, 900, ,0OO, more than one- third of all the real and personal property in the land, and total value of the farm pro- ducts was estimated at $2, 449, ,O0O, 900. A capital of $34, ,000,00O was employed in the manufacture of agricultural inn plements, with 8 product that year valued at $50, 100000. The agricultural and horticultural journals had an aggregate annual issue of 21, ,500,0O0 copies. From these figures we may better realize some thing of the immensity of this industry, and the support it must give to the great body of the people, the other half engaged in other occupations. We can see that in the direct supply of food to | the world, in the transmission and dis tribution of products, and in the demand for the manufacture of implements and machinery, agriculture is, indeed, the basis of general prosperity.
 ONIONS AND RUTABAGAs.
 H. B., Fairfield County, Conn.,, writes "I believe it pays farmers who raise onions for market to raise their own l seed. The extra trouble is more than paid for in the good seed gained. My l plan is to select for seed the medium sized round onions and avoid all the flat 1 saucer-shaped ones. Old seed is not so likely to do we'll as new. When I want l early onions for market SOW in the early fall and cover the bed when the | frost first hardens the ground with a ] mulch of some kind-any non-con- I ductor-to prevent thawing in winter. In the spring the covering is taken of and the onions will be long way ahead of those started in the spring. The sub- ject of rutabagas was introduced not long ago. will say that for this crop I have seen excellent results obtained with Peruvian guano which had been treated with sulphuric acid and I believe commonly known as rectifed guano this was when manure was not to be had. When one can have choice of fertilizers for this crop should say by all means apply rich, well-rotted farm yard manure spread broadcast and in- corporated in the soil and superphos- phate of lime put in the drill with the seed"
 THE CRANBERRY.-The cranberry is most proftably cultivated on low, moist, level lands, where drainage as well as overfowing can be applied as circumstances may require. Yet, like many other plants, it may be grown successfully under conditions very diff ferent from those in which 1t is found in its wild state. Any loamy, naturally moist garden soil will grow cranberries. The plants are set out and cultivated exactly like strawberries, until the vines have covered the entire ground, when no other care is necessary than to pull out the tall weeds. An occasional light dressing of fine swamp muck or sawdust is very beneficial and keeps the ground moist. A small beginning in cranberry culture may even be made in flower pot. Plants grown in this way are not only highly ornamental, the fruits hang ing on the vines until the blossoms ap- pear for the next crop, but also astonish- ingly productive. e.-Aneericon Garden.
 How TO Pr APPLES. apples may be preserved in pits made as fol- lows: Choose an elevated piece of ground in the orchard, and scoop out shallow basin, in which heap the. apples in quantities of not more than ten or twelve bushels /; cover them with straw laid lengthwise from top to bottom of the heap. Leave them thus for two or three days, during which they will heat and sweat After they have dried, cover the straw with light coating of earth, ex- cept in three or four small places at the bottom and at the top, where large wisp of straw should be inserted and bent over to make 8 watershed. The apples will keep much longer in this way than in barrels, and winter-apples may be kept until spring in fine order. If the apples are picked before they are quite ripe they will keep longer.
 
 DeplOrable.
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