The National tribune., 1882-11-30

I
tions should be put out in the regions of the
apiaries; the fruit is valuable, and these plants
alone in the pine forests Of northern Michigan
secure TO bee-keepers large return Of the Hnss:
honey. Many persons state that mignonetts is
not desirable honey plant.
EvERGREENs
ythe term "evergreens is commonly under
stood the family OF Couiferous trees, because in
northern latitudcs these are the only trees
which retain their foliage throughout the year
The deciduOus trees give us shade and shelter
during the summer, but during the coldcst por-
ton of the year these trees leafess and
afford only partial projection from the cold winds
of winter. This consideration should recon-
mend the cultivation of evergreens around
ia m buildings for not only is the comfort of
man and beast concerned, but also practical
economy, as it is well understood by intelligent
farmers that the abstraction of animal heat by
cold winds must be cOunterbalanced by an in
creased supply of food. But the fact that these
c0niferous trees furnish our most valuable
building material, that our native supply of
them is rapidly diminishing, and ths market
value advancing. affords strong and urgent
argument for the attention of tree growers.
RYE AS A RENOvATOR.
Rye is well adapted to renovate old pastures.
Take piece of sandy or grsveIly land that has
been used for pasture until it will hardly pro-
dues feed for sheep and is covered with penny
royal, mullens, raspberry bushes and the like !;
plow the last of August, no matter if not turned
over very smooth drag well, so as to be mellow :;
SOW about two bushels of seed to the acre, and
the result viii be almost certain to be a good,
paying crop Again it viii be found that the
rotting of the turf has improved the pasture, all
| bushes ara killed, the grass roots renewed and
the field will bear more and sweetcr feed for
years after. The grain viii generally more
than pay all the outlay in its cultivation,
while the straw will sell for about the price Of
hay, and sometimes oven more always being in
good demand
Gypsum.
L;ehig states " that in order to form con-
ception Of the effect of gypsum it may be sufii
cient to remark that 10 pounds of it fixes as
muCn ammonia in the soil as $3.50 pounds of
horse urine would yield TO it, even on the
| suppositiOn that all the nitrogen of the urea
and hippurC acid were absorbed by the plants
| without the smallest loss in the form of carbon
ate Of ammonia Gypsum operates most ben
efcally upon light, dry, and sandy or open
soils, because they soonest admit water, which
dissolvcs it and carries it to the roots of plants
Upon rich soils it should not be used too fro
! quently. In all cases where used it should be
| borne in mind the essential office that it per-
forms, and so used IS TO be enabled to produce
| the best results
| RECIPROCITY
The Northern cities receive large quantity
of early vegetables and fruits from the South
during the spring and early summer months.
AT this season the South consumes largely of
! Northern products and their demand for vege-
tables is quite extensive and yearly increasing.
! The South gets the largest proportion of their
| potatoes for consumption from the North and
| West. The Southern potato crop is mostly sold
| out early to Northern markets they sold this
! year Off the farms for S. and upwards per bar
! rel, and they now pay s. per barrel for North
! ern grown potatoes. There is also great South
| ern demand for cabbages, tomatoes, and apples
at the present time. This business will no
! doubt continue to enlarge, as manufacturing
| industries continue to increase throughout the
Southern. States.
PRESERVING GRAPES
writer thus describes his method Of pre-
serving grapes: " l select, on a good dry day.
none but fully ripe and good punches, put
them in low two or three-gallon stone jars and
put them in a trench, so that the top of the jar
is from eight TO twelve inches below the surface
of the ground; put piece of board not pine
over each jar, and cover with earth. If covered
with straw or coarse litter over the ground, the
jar can be taken out with less trouble in cold
weather. In this way / have kept grapes until
May equally as sound and fresh as they were
when put in l have kept some in fat boxes
and found them to keep equally well. The
boxes should be covered with only one board
so to keep out water. The soil must be dry,
and have gravelly or sandy bottom"
STORING CARROTS, &C.
good method of preserving carrots beets
satisfy, and parsnips is to build them neatly up
in cone fashion, and as each layer is placed fill
in solidly with dry sand. This will keep them
from shriveling up, and preserve them fresh
and crisp. warm cellar is one OF the worst
places for these roots shed is better; they
cannoJ be kept too cool, provided they are safe
from frost In cutting OFF the tops it is not
we'll to cut the root, but take of the leaves as
close as practicable without touching the root.
Parsnips are best when dug fresh from the
ground, but where severe frosts close up the
ground for months they are not available.
When kept covered well with sand during
winter they will be found as firm and juicy as
those which are kept in the ground until used
GROUND LIMESTONE.
II has been asserted that ground limestone is
of no agricultural value, and that it must first
be burned before it can have any virtue as food
for plants. The truth IN this matter can be
best reached by prsctcal experiment. 4 cor
respondent of the HusjGndnban reports that he
sowed 800 pounds of crude ground limestone
per acre on low-lying, sandy loan, and planted
with potatoes, the yield being 100 bushels to
the acre Of large smooth potatoes. On the sd-
joining land, whore no limestone was used, the
yield vas not moro than sixty bushels to tho
acre, Of which onc-half wero bad and WORTHLESS,
for use, being worm-eaten and rusty. He
thinks that the use of 900 pounds of the
ground Limestone to the acre would be good
for potatoe5.
osAGE ORANGE.
The Usage orange is familiarly known as a
hedge plant in most parts of the country but
it has other useful properties decoction of
the wood is said to yicld beautiful and very
permanent yellow dye and this decoction