The National tribune., 1883-04-12
RURAL TOPICS.
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
OATS.

waited Cat Is Auetd SGfsUd. IL IS 6npposSu ny
some to be domesticatel variety Of AUeaa tdt'td,
the wild oat. an annual plant found IN Europe,
North Africa North Asia, and eastward as far
as Japan Experiments made by yearly selec-
tions OF the best grains of the wild species
through successive sowings have resulted IN
securing good plump grain III eight years
The grain OF the oat is rich in gluten and
fat and CT atains good quantity of sugar and
starch; ii is nutritious and wholesome. The
meal is prepared by grinding the Kindred
grains previously deprived of their skins. The
meal is not so-wEite as wheaton flour, and It's
taste is at first sweet, then rough and slightly
bitter The bitterness is more perceptlble
when the meal has been ground for some time.
1t cannot be vesiculatod into bread, but it
makes good cakes. The most popular mode OF
cooking ID is that of stirring the fresh meal
into boiling water until the mixture acquires
certain consistency, when 1t Is eaten with
milk The grain when hulied is called greats,
or grits: when simply bruised ii is called Emb-
den greats, and is used for cruel drinks and
for thicEzeniDg soups.
The skiTloss cat, 4Cead nt9d, is also in cult
walton. but il has never been extensively grown,
probably owing 10 the liability Of the grains TO
shake from the stem when ripe. il Is said 10 be
very prolific, and 10 make good meal
The Tartarian oat, A0eaa 0yteEtaiiS, several
varieties of which are IN cultivation, are
usually very prolific. and are considered better
adapted 10 warm climates than the common
oat. A black variety occurs, which is considered
good for cattle and other animals, and Is said
TO be more productive on light soils than any
Others Of the cultivated varieties.
The cat plant grows best ia climates Of COM
paratiVely low temperatures The grain Is
larger, and its nutritiye qualities greater in
cool moist climates than in warm and dry
climates. Grown on dry soils under warm suns
it is comparatively worthless, acquiring. small
kernel with much husk.
All over the Northern and Middle States the
oat should be sOwn at the earliest possible time
IN spring The ground should be plowed in
the fall SO that but little labor viii be required
TO get 1t in good condition for sowing. In the
Southern States ii is best 10 sow in the fall !;
the-crap VIII then rlpen the following summer
before drouth and heat prevails. The climate
of the South is usually sufficiently mild for the
oat TO grow through the winter, and good crops
are produced. 1t is a more valuable crop in
the Northern than it is in the Middle or in
the Southern States; and again, it is a more
certain crop in some Of the Southern States
when fall-sown than it is in southern parts of
the Middle States where the winters too
severe to admit of Its being sown in the fall,
and where the summers are too warm and dry
for Its full development when sown in spring.
SELECTION OF VEGETABLES.
Usually one Of the most perplexing things
for the amateur is the selecting of seeds and
plants from seed and nursery catalogues. I'M
fortunately, all our seed lists are overgrown
with weeds, so to speak;-they embrace too
many worthless varieties
The following remarks about vegetables were
made by James J. II. Gregory, of Marblehead,
one of our leading seedsmen, at q meeting of
the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. lie
gave an account Of the history of several yege
tables which he had introduced from time TO
time. The Marblehead squash was brought from
the West Indies. When the Hubbard squash
and Early Rose potato were first sent to mar
ket they were rejected. Burbank's Seeding
potato is decidedly later than the Early
Rose. There is no better cropper than Beauty
of Hebron; it is much like the Elephant The
Early Munich turnip is the earliest of ALL and
decided acquisition. The American Wonder
pea is as early as the Dan O'Rourke. The John
Bull pea is the best of the stoclly growing peas.
The Peerless White Spine cucumber is an i'm
provement on the common variety. Tailby's
Hybrid is a fine kind The Broad Wax pole
bean is a desirable variety. Carriers Stratagem
pea is desirable for amateurs. Potter's Excel
sior corn is white and very sweet. The Cuban
watermelon sometimes weighed forty pounds;
it is the same as the Excelsior and is fine
variety. The Long Hill watermelon is a good
variety. The Surprise and Valencia are two
excellent muskmelons; the first is very deli
cious. The Little Gem squash is fine for family
use, though of light color. Early Drumhead
cabbage is earlier, larger, and more solid than
the Wyman or Wakefield.
TRIMMING HEDGES.
One Of the greatest drawbacks to hedges as
farm fences is the cost of keeping them in good
repair, and unless they receive proper atten-
zion they are of but little value as fence. The
best hedge plant is one that Will not make
very strong yearly growths, so that it viii not
require more than one trimming during the
year, and which may be done any time during
the winter months when there is more leasure
on a farm than IN summer when crops require
almost daily attention. But the great desire
70 get hedge quickly has led to the selection
of strong, vigorous growing trees, such as the
Usage orange and honey locust, which require
frequent trimmings year y 10 maintain any
thing like close, seryiceable hedge fence.
1t viii have some tendency to lessen or at
least somewhat retard early growth, TO leave
the winter trimming until as late III spring as
possible. If left until the buds show symptoms
OF growth and then cut, it will sensibly retacd
the young shoots, so that one trimming during
summer may be sufficient. The weakest part
of a hedge is that nearest the ground; this
should be its widest part, and it should taper
upwards 20 point Unless this form is main
tanned the lower branches viii gradually weaken
and ultimately die out, leaving gaps for in
truders. Hedges which have become impaired
through neglect may be recovered by cutting
them down TO within twenty inches or so from
the ground, when they viii branch out yigor-
ously, and, by proper pruning, soon be all that
DRAINING "HARD-PAE" SOILS
HW.S. Cleveland, in the Prairie Farmer, states
that where land is underiaid with "hard PAM
at depth of eighteen inches or two feet ii
may be reclaimed by draining. He advises
that the tile be laid below the hard pam" SO
that the water on ii may be drawn TO the out
let thus provided The effect of alternate soak
ing and drying viii, in few years so change
the whole texture Of this hard strata as To
render il porous and fiable and easily accessi-
bic 10 the roots of plants. This is a very val
liable suggestion, which is said to be borne out
by experience. Draining is now taking its
proper place in this country, as it has long done
ia European countries, as the foundation of al
culture. Farmers and gardeners also have long
hercically maintained that the practices found
essential in other countries were not necessary
in this; that our climate was essert tally differ
ent and, so far as draining is concerned, the
great trouble under the bright sun and Tainless
skies was want of water; therefore no need ia
drain. But as knowledge spreads, their con-
illusions are seen TO be erroneous and they be-
gin TO realize that soil well drained is also
well aerated, and tic air carries moisture and
keeps II IN suspension just where plants most
need it, and q dry season has but little effect
upon their growth. a properly drained soil /:
fortified against either extreme-wetness o.
dryness. This has been so often demonstrated
and SO frequently advised, that il would seer